Have An Imperfect Practice

This is my wish for you: Have an imperfect practice. Does that seem strange? I hope you have an imperfect mindfulness practice. Because whatever your idea about mindfulness practice is, it can’t even come close to your unique moment-by-moment actual practice.

An imperfect practice > no practice.

And (spoiler alert!) our practice can only be imperfect!

It can seem like conditions must be just right for us to practice, and we have to be a certain way, too. Having an aspiration is wonderful. Holding ourselves to achieving some vision of meditative perfection tends to result in a nasty inner critic attack and a big ole spoonful of giving up.

In a recent MBSR class, someone shared about having a week like that — an “I-forgot-I-was-in-MBSR” kind of week. And then she came to class, and then she just resumed her practice. This is great training for … how it is. We can always start again. Any moment. This moment. Just keep practicing.

How about three breaths right now: Don’t move anything, don’t assume any sort of mystical position. Just stop wherever you are and feel this breath.

And here you are. Hands on keyboard, holding the smartphone. It’s nothing like the picture on the brochure. This is it!

Please enjoy perusing all the mindfulness offerings in our area. Your opportunities for practice and support are growing, and this is exciting. Thank you for your imperfect practice!

~Laura

“The Perfect Cup”
by Joyce Rupp
it is time for me
to see the flaws
of myself
and stop
being alarmed

it is time for me
to halt my drive
for perfection
and to accept
my blemishes

it is time for me
to receive
slowly evolving growth
the kind that comes
in God’s own good time
and pays no heed
to my panicky pushing

it is time for me
to embrace
my humanness
to love
my incompleteness

it is time for me
to cherish
the unwanted
to welcome
the unknown
to treasure
the unfulfilled

if I wait to be
perfect
before I love myself
I will always be
unsatisfied
and ungrateful

if I wait until
all the flaws, chips,
and cracks disappear
I will be the cup
that stands on the shelf
and is never used

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