It’s been almost 15 years since I first “got into” inner peace, self-loving, and creativity, but I’m just now getting what that really means.
Over the years, I’ve practiced journaling, yoga, and meditation (and mindfulness and gratitude and optimism and self-compassion). I’ve read every kind of self-help book I could find, from positive psychology to vibrational alignment. I’ve visualized my best possible self, taken a picture a day to finally see the beauty around me, and looked for signs that the universe is listening.
Alone, none of these ever silenced my inner critic or left me completely at peace, and for the longest time, it felt like I must be doing something wrong.
Until I realized something: All we can ever do is practice. Inner peace, self-loving, creativity, life is all a practice, not a perfection.
It might seem obvious when you put it like that. Still, my mind was blown.
Living with more peace and compassion isn’t about the individual steps but where the practice of taking those steps leads over time. As I look back at the last 15 years, I see that I’m light years from where I began.
It’s still not perfect, and it never will be, but it’s softer and smoother. And it’s become much more than something I’m into. It’s a way of life.
The idea of practice is simple, but simple isn’t easy.
Confusion, uncertainty, and pain are inevitable in life. They’re also an inherent part of practice. Practice means holding on to the hope of progress without attachment to exactly how or when it’s going to work. It’s trying your best even when you’re not performing at your best. And then doing it again and again and again.
Practice doesn’t make perfect. There’s no such thing.
Practice makes progress and fluency.
Practice makes habit.
Practice makes experience.
Practice makes growth.
If you want to learn something new, practice. If you want to create something meaningful, practice. And if you want to live with more peace, practice.
Practice the small, daily decisions to notice how you feel and where your mind is going, notice what’s working and what’s not, notice the little nudges inside and out, notice how you’re responding to it all, and then bring yourself back to the present with compassion. Over and over and over again.
Every time you notice how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking, how you’re reacting and choose to try something more peaceful and loving, you’re practicing.
Every time you listen to that little voice inside saying, “I wonder if…” and then you take that courageous step, you’re practicing.
Even when it feels like a battle between a harsh world and you. Even when your inner critic has been beating you up all day. It’s all practice, and the practice is everything.
It’s not bright and shiny or glamorous, but it works.
Ready for something softer and smoother? Try this:
A Ritual for Receiving. A daily ritual for more love, light, and peace.
Leave a Reply