Why “Practice?”

 I have taken awhile to get used to the word “practice.” Initially, it sounded like something that belonged in sports or some other realm. Over time, it has changed in tone to my inner ear. Practice implies that I keep working on something and with that work I may become more “skilled.” It is that becoming that catches my heart’s fancy, I believe.

For too long, I believe that religious piety gave me a sense of having arrived or almost having arrived. Yet the more I practice, the more I see that each step forward moves me one step forward. I can and do sometimes step back, occasionally almost immediately after stepping forward! If I had some imagined goal of platonic perfection, each step would merely be frustrating and, in the extreme, tedious and infuriating. I have as my goal to continue to practice, to create a Rhythm out of that practice, and to trust that the practice could open me to a deepening Presence everywhere and all-the-time.

As I have come to a resonance with the word practice, I have found greater peace in both what might be called successes and failures (if one must attach a “value” to them). Every moment can teach and hone my practice. And I have been surprised to discover I sometimes learn more in my missteps than in my intended steps.

So I keep practicing. And each day, I am thankful for another day to practice.

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