Life is Simply a Practice

Photo Credit: Taryn Elliott on Pexels

I recently had a conversation with a friend about how hard it can be to face our mistakes and self-defined failures. For a lot of us we are so hard on ourselves, so much more critical than others would be. It seems hard to give ourselves grace when it feels like the world expects so much of us. We compete with each other and that creates an even more critical atmosphere than if we simply existed in community. During our conversation I was brought back to thoughts of how I could frame my self-judgement in a way that is more loving. I've asked myself in the past how I could frame those situations I deemed as failures in a more kind light. Then it came to me. We are all born into this earth helpless, with no ability to walk or talk. As we grow we begin to make sounds and mimic those around us. We would never criticize a baby for not being able to do these things. As children we go into each day with curiosity and a willingness to try new things. We practice.

Whenever we are learning something new, we are encouraged to practice. So perhaps life is simply a practice in itself. We are constantly evolving as we get to know what we like, what we want, and who we are as a person. Every day is really just practicing being ourselves. We make choices and sometimes they result in things we like and sometimes they don't. When they don't, what if we saw it simply as information - data that tells us since we don't care for the outcome, we need to adjust our choices the next time to see what happens? This doesn't mean we make choices recklessly without concern for others. It simply means that when we do make a choice that has an undesirable outcome, we own the choice and recognize that life can be complex and unpredictable and that the most important lessons lie in the process of practicing life.

The word failure means "lack of success in meeting a goal, expectation or required function".

If we focus on this definition, we can see that failure isn't tied to our worthiness. Rather it is a very utilitarian term. Society has taken this word and made it personal as if people are a commodity that only has value if they meet the expectation of how society defines success. This simply is not true. We all started in the same place and we are all at different stages in our practice of life. That is the whole point. We came here to explore and practice, and to learn and grow. There is no optimal path or singular point to reach. Life is the culmination of our choices and what we choose to learn.

We need to remember all of the little steps we took along the way and where we actually met our goals. Bonus points for the goals that took us many years of practice because we didn't give up on ourselves! Our experience exists in the present moment, so essentially we get a do-over every morning we wake up. We get to choose something different and practice being authentic and true to ourselves. Since life also happens in cycles, we know there will be ups and downs. If we learn to flow with those ups and downs, we can find our rhythm and look forward to improving. A person who is seen as a master of their craft must practice. They get to the level of mastery, because they practice. This doesn't mean that life has to be hard or a constant struggle. We all have gifts we find easy. Practice those things too. Focus on your strengths. We don't have to be good at everything, That's what community is for, to bring together our strengths for the benefit of everyone.

Practicing life can be fun and challenging so try on this new perspective and see how it serves you!