Eknath Easwaran — Indian Author died on December 30, 1999

Eknath Easwaran was a spiritual teacher, an author of books on meditation and ways to lead a fulfilling life, as well as a translator and interpreter of Indian literature... (wikipedia)

Patience can't be acquired overnight. It is just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it.
It takes a lot of experience of life to see why some relationships last and others do not. But we do not have to wait for a crisis to get an idea of the future of a particular relationship. Our behavior in little every incidents tells us a great deal.
Through meditation and by giving full attention to one thing at a time, we can learn to direct attention where we choose.