Practice

Life is full of it. Processing moments into hours, days, weeks and years. We are just practicing–all the time. There is always room for improvement. We will never be done while we are still alive. Does that sound like a heavy job? Does it sound tiring? Does it break your resilience? It might. If you let it. You are in control, afterall. Our attitude towards practice could very well define us. I’m not sure how far our character can be bound by our mindset or even if our character doesn’t actually effect our mindset. I DO, however, believe that the two are connected in some way.

That might sound confusing and I apologize for that. I’m usually a little more straightforward but practice comes in various packages based on our realities (which is a whole subject in and of itself). Maybe I can break it down a bit. I’m using attitude and mindset interchangeably which might clear some things up. I think what I’m trying to say is that our response to the idea of continuous practice is based on our mindset/attitude towards it. 

At this point in my life, I am practicing sobriety. My attitude towards that is based on my reality that I want to be authentic and, for me, that means maintaining an existence with as little distortion as possible. I don’t believe I will ever completely rid myself of misinterpretations but, once again, I am practicing and I want to have a clear head during this dress rehearsal.

So, the idea that practice is continuous, for me, is fortifying. I embrace it and run with it. It allows me to be who I am with all my indiscretions, realities and perspectives. And because I’m honing who I am, I’m changing. It becomes a response to the reality that presents itself to me at any given moment. One has to be open-minded, permeable and flexible in order to have an evolving life and attitude is everything. We need to check our responses and, sometimes, change our mindsets in order to grow our character. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make us better than we were one second ago.

peace balance empathy