Friday, March 04, 2005

Practice, Practice, Practice

Here's another passage from Find a Quiet Corner by Nancy O'Hara. She makes a critical point here that we would all do well to take on board:

Whatever gain you get from your quiet corner today may carry through to tomorrow, but it will begin to fade if you don't continue the practice of taking quiet corner time. And while the effects of this practice are cumulative, you must practice daily in order for this to be so. As with anything worthwhile, your quiet corner experience gets better with practice and time.

There will be many days when retreating to your quiet corner will seem to take more effort than you think it's worth. Go there anyway. There may be days when you feel stuck and your quiet corner seems more a burden than a luxury. Go there anyway. Even if you feel you can spare only ten minutes some days, that's enough. If you wait for the perfect time, the perfect motivation, and the perfect setting, you may never get there. Keep going there and practice your practice.

Remember the Nike slogan: Just do it!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous8:24 PM

    "Even if you feel you can spare only ten minutes some days, that's enough" was a light bulb statement for me. I had allowed myself to become caught in the trap of all or nothing. My practice was frequently turning into nothing which left me feeling guilty--not a nice cycle to be caught in. Thanks for the reminder that whatever I can do--do it, and it will be good enough.
    Carolyn L.

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