I've made up the phrase 4p worker so please don’t rush for the dictionary. It stands for perseverance, persistence, pertinacity and patience. I do love alliteration. So a 4p worker is someone who has:
Perseverance – plain old-fashioned hard work
Persistence – sticking with that hard work
Pertinacity – stubbornly sticking with said hard work and
Patience – the ability to not be irritated by and so not be distracted
from the hard work.
These are valuable skills, especially if you’re a writer,
and I must mention all those people who have just launched themselves into
this year’s NaNoWriMo (write a novel in a month) challenge. I admire you all. I couldn’t
stick to the strict regime, but then I’m not a 4p worker. So good luck everyone
[assuming you’ve got time to read this blog post!]
Last week I saw two amazing 4p workers. [Did I mention that
we were in Israel last week? Oh, you read my last blog post? Sorry. I’m still on a high!]
4p Worker Number One
We were
visiting an Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem. It was a beautiful, gold leaf-adorned
Synagogue.
The Synagogue had a small museum for tourists and there we met an antique restorer. She worked constantly while we stood and gaped.
This is said to be one of the oldest Arks in the world. [The
Ark is where the Torah Scrolls are kept in the Synagogue.] It had once
been very beautiful and the restorer was working hard to recreate that beauty.
What a job!
4p Worker Number Two
Masada is in the Negev
desert and when we visited it was steaming hot. In the heat of the midday sun we were taken on a guided tour around the ancient
ruins.
We ended up at what had once been a Synagogue. The tour guide pointed to a small
structure in the corner of the ruins of the Synagogue and said,
“There’s a scribe in there, writing out Torah
scrolls.” But it was getting on for 90o up there! Surely it must be
a museum dummy-style mock-up, but no! There really was a man writing each
letter of the Torah with perfect precision.
Now that’s what I call a 4p worker. I only hope he had
air-conditioning!
If I was a 4p worker I wouldn’t have five half-finished
manuscripts on my computer... or an ironing pile that keeps falling over. I
guess I’m one of those people who are destined to flit from one thing to
another, like a butterfly... or rather a papillon! [I do love alliteration.]
So, what are you, a 4p worker or a papillon?
