When my daughter was a toddler, she had a favorite hat. She couldn't put the hat on herself, so she would walk around the house practicing. Over and over she'd take the hat and attempt to press it onto her head. It took far more coordination that she had at first--to open the hat and place it on widely and pull it down. However, given her extreme determination and constant practice, she soon became proficient at the task.
This sort of persistent and patient perseverance children display regularly, learning to walk or talk or use a fork or spoon. One might even say they do this practice graciously, given the dozens and hundreds of times they may make attempts and fail.
Meanwhile...in our adult world things are different! I often see an adult attempt something new once. If she fails, she may not give up, but she generally makes a conclusion about her abilities based on this failure. This comes up often in yoga when a new student attempts a pose, or when any student attempts a new pose. Most adults will not completely give up a practice, however, they will think, or sometimes say, "I'm not good at that. I can't do that. This isn't for me."
Every skill requires practice. Even a skill in which we have a natural ability. I have never found yoga particularly "hard." In fact, it came rather naturally for me. Yet it also demanded a regular, persistent practice, especially in certain postures where I was more limited.
Spiritual practice is no different. Prayer, healing, positive thought, intercession, transformation--all require practice, repetitive, sometimes full of failure, practice. Wherever we want to grow spiritually, we can. But we must cheerfully and determinedly, take the task like that hat my little daughter held and keep at it, with no sense of personal insecurity or imperfection. We don't want to take our spiritual imperfections personally; if we take them to heart, we risk giving up, or drawing a false conclusion about ourselves.
Each one of us is God's beloved child. Each one of us contains all Good and only Good, the capacity to do remarkable and unimaginable Good. Each one of us has a divine gift, that through practice and time, becomes a powerful, unique Light in the world. In the middle of the mess of daily and domestic life, in the midst of the thunderous negativity of media, news and events globally, we lose sight of the glory within us, that does not belong to us, yet is ours.
I think of my little one who never asked, "Mama, what's wrong with me? Will I ever be able to put on my hat? Why is this taking so long? Maybe I'm not meant to wear a hat...maybe I'm not as good as people who wear hats."
It may take a long time (and it may not). Keep patiently practicing your spiritual gifts, keep seeing yourself as the best version, hold in your mind a picture of your Highest self. Remember whose child you are, a child of the Divine Mother Father, and reflect on the fact that the apple cannot fall far from the tree!
Rev. Sam Wilde
