Entering into a Jedi apprenticeship is a tremendous commitment in patience for both parties, the teacher and the student. How so? Through this essay, we'll be exploring where the trait of patience is applied from the point of view of the mentor and the apprentice in terms of time and awareness.
TIMEAs a mentor and apprentice, time will surely come into play in the training process. First, consider that it impacts our very communication. We are a "global neighborhood", with Jedi from around the world participating and learning together. In that sense, the mentor and apprentice may not necessarily live in the same time zone! While it is daytime hours for one, it may be the middle of the night for the other. Recognizing and working with the time delay requires patience and flexibility.
For the mentor:You have a busy life, with duties and responsibilities online and offline that you see to. You have your own training to attend to, a personal life, maybe a job and/or school as well. In the apprenticeship, be sure to still take time for yourself and attend to your own needs. At the same time, remember your apprentice also "has a life" to see to in order to be balanced as a Jedi Realist. Set assignment due dates realistically, knowing the responsibilities that s/he will have to live up to, beyond direct training. As a personal anecdote, I remember when I was mentoring over a student from Sweden. I would ask him to have an essay turned in by a particular date and time. It set me back when he wrote back, asking, "Is that in my time or yours?!"
For the apprentice:You have a busy life, with duties and responsibilities online and offline that you see to. In being patient over time concerns, your mentor is going to pace assignments and your training as best as s/he knows how. It may seem "too slow" to you, but there is probably a reason why a lesson may proceed at the pace it does! Be patient and learn from the pace too. If you were to not hear from your teacher for a little while, use the time effectively; don't fret over a lack of communication. Utilize the time to study over lessons, to make observations and to grow on your own. Your mentor is there to help guide you, not make you a Jedi.
AWARENESSIn an apprenticeship, there is a definite give-and-take/exchange of knowledge and budding wisdom for both Jedi. Coming from (assumably) different backgrounds, life experiences, and levels of present training, both the teacher and student are going to be aware of different things in life. This will require a Jedi's patience again in a training relationship.
For the mentor:Remember, you are in this training relationship partially because you have something to impart on your apprentice. The student has come to you to learn, to gain insights and to grow. That said, the "assumption" is that you're going to have a higher level of wisdom than your student in certain things. You're going to understand a concept, an idea, or a process relating to Jedi that your student is just beginning to understand or grasp. Draw on your skills where patience is concerned to smile and wait, to innovate your own lessons in order to help foster that understanding. Awareness takes as long as it is meant to for each person; having the mentor be patient and understanding of the "learning curve" will make it more conducive for your student's learning experience.
For the apprentice:There are going to be some days where you wonder what in the world your mentor is talking about! Perhaps he or she will be lecturing about the importance of compassion towards every person on Earth, and you - from where you are now - can't seem to understand how that is possible. You might feel frustrated because you're supposed to understand, you're supposed to accept the lesson, and you're supposed to live it... and it makes no sense at all! Exercise patience. Take a deep breath. Take in the lesson you've been taught and just keep it in the back of your mind. Becoming aware and understanding works at its own pace in our lives, so just keep the information there and when you're supposed to, you will understand more.
Obviously there is more to a Jedi apprenticeship than being patient. But, patience is an area to start with and to focus on that will make the training experience flow more naturally.