Learning to walk

Yesterday at Sangha we were let through a guided meditation. The directions were to think of a problem that we are having and imagine that a wise person had taken over our body: we then "watched" as this wise person handled the problem. I thought about two problems: one, is the ineffective way that I communicate in an argument, the second was the fact that I lose track of my practice. While meditating the wise person gave me an answer for both questions.

The first was to repeat what the other person has said, and to find out where they are coming from. That way even if you never agree, you will at least understand what makes them feel the way they do.

The second was a lesson that I have been slow to learn. That lesson is simple, when you remember to practice, do it, when you don't, do it the next time that you remember. Most people beat themselves up over their shortcomings, this is not helpful, in fact it works to further discourage one from his or her practice.

As I meditated this wise person showed me the image of a small child learning to walk. I thought about the fact that most people don't remember what it was like to learn to walk. Without doubt, we all faltered fell, cried, and at times gave up. Our practice is like that too, we will falter, we will make mistakes, but if we can realize that it is going to happen, perhaps, just perhaps, we can pick ourselves up without beating ourselves up.