1. A teacher who stays calm in a noisy classroom.
2. A person who waits for someone else without becoming upset.
In these two situations the individual can be described as being patient. However, the scenarios are actually quite different. I would aver that a better adjective for the person in the first scenario is tolerant.
For my money, the best example of patience is when you are able to wait for someone or something without getting upset or flustered.
This can be bisected into two scenarios. In the first case, when I am waiting for someone, but I do not feel like I need to be somewhere else at the time. In this case, it is easier to remain patient and calm. I don't mind giving my time to the other person.
In the second case, when I am waiting for someone, and I feel like I need to be somewhere else or be doing something else. In this case, it is more difficult to remain patient and easier to become upset. It bothers me that someone else is taking my time.
It is easy to remain patient in the first scenario; and in fact, I wonder if such a situation even qualifies as being patient. It is in the second scenario, when I want to be somewhere or do something, that real patience is required.
This reminds me of a quip I once heard about gifts. If you give someone something that you do not want, then it is not really a gift; it is more like garbage. A true gift is when you give away something that you yourself desire.
Similarly, when I am patient with someone when I feel like I want to be somewhere else or be doing something else, then this is truly patience. This is a true gift. It is the gift of my time, when I want the time for myself.
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