Posts Tagged: practice
“Firm Commitment and Dedicated Practice”
Hazelden Publishing has some wonderful readings that are both free and radically helpful. Here is one of them for today:
“Sunday, July 21
I wake each morning with the thrill of expectation and the
joy of being truly alive. And I’m thankful for this day.
—Angela L. Wozniak
Being open to the day’s offering, all of it, and looking for the positive
experiences therein, becomes habit only after a firm commitment and dedicated
practice. Today is special for each of us.
These next twenty-four hours will be unlike all others. And we are not the
persons we were, even as recently as yesterday. Looking forward to all of the
day’s events, with the knowledge that we are in the care of our higher power,
in every detail, frees us to make the most of everything that happens.
We have been given the gift of life. We are survivors. The odds against
survival in our past make clear we have yet a job to do and are being given the
help to do it. Confidence wavers in all of us, but the strength we need will be
given to each of us.
In this day that stands before me, I can be certain that I’ll have many chances
for growth, for kindness to others, for developing confidence in myself. I will
be thoughtful in my actions today. They are special and will be repeated no
more.
From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey.”
I liked this entire reading, but was especially struck by the words, “Being open to the day’s offering, all of it, and looking for the positive experiences therein, becomes habit only after a firm commitment and dedicated practice.”
Firm commitment and dedicated practice: Yes! That is what it takes. And it sounds good. But then, there is the actual commitment and practice. And how do I know I’m truly committed? By practice, practice, practice.
In virtually every area of my life, I don’t like practice. It is hard, boring, and repetitive. But it is also essential. A quote that I’ve heard attributed to different musicians (perhaps by the Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski) goes like this:
“If I don’t practice for one day, I know it.
If I don’t practice for two days, the critics know it.
If I don’t practice for three days, everyone knows it.”
God, help me to practice good stuff today.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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