hard paths, soft places…& practice.

Yesterday was not my favorite. A combination of fatigue, general stress, & hormones conspired to make it a pretty rotten day. Conversations drifted down hard paths ("hard, like the table"…we say, nodding to my Aunt Betty's reminder that challenges don't take that form). Words hit in those soft, vulnerable places…the ones that you know will hurt, even if hurting isn't your intention. Kindness & grace seemed to be taking a day off. 

Sigh.

I read this reminder on Rosie Molinary's blog this morning - 

Because it is all practice, friends.  Every day.  It’s what we have the promise of when we wake up in the morning:  that we can practice our intentions, that we can practice at becoming who we want to be, and that the real magic is that if we are honest and vulnerable and keep trying, we might sometimes get it right but, even more important, that when we get it wrong, we must give ourselves grace and simply begin again with our intention.  

And with those words, I exhaled. It is all practice. I have talked about this so very often. Show up, do the work, learn, adjust…then do it again. That's practice. I know that the hard paths won't go away, but that I can practice walking through them more gracefully. I know that I will always wear the soft places on the outside…there's no thick skin here…but that I can ask for, and demonstrate, kindness & gentleness. 

So. Today I am reflecting on the practices of grace, kindness, and gratitude. I hope that your weekend is filled with all three. Namaste, friends.

*photo from Unsplash