April 4th

Practice

Spiritual success is gained by daily cultivation.
If you practiced for the day, then you have won.
If you were lazy for the day, then you have lost.

Self-cultivation is the heart of spiritual attainment. Gaining insight and ability is not a matter of grand statements, dramatic initiations, or sporadic moments of enlightenment. Those things are only highlights in a life of consistent activity.Whatever system of spirituality you practice, do it every day. If it is prayer, then pray every day. If it is meditation, then meditate every day. If it is exercise, then exercise every day. Only then will you be able to say that you are truly practicing spirituality.
This methodical approach is reassuring in several ways. First, it provides you with a process and a means to maintain progress even if that particular day is not inspiring or significant. Just to practice is already good. Secondly, it gives you a certain faith. If you practice every day, it is inevitable that you will gain from it. Thirdly, constant practice gives you a certain satisfaction. How can you say to yourself that you have truly entered a spiritual path unless you can look back on years of daily practice and take comfort in the momentum that it has given you?

Personal Interpretation

Daily practice is more meaningful than the rare moments of enlightenment we receive on the path of life. If we work to cultivate our spiritual selves each and every day, in whatever way seems best to us, we will create a certain momentum. In time, motivation will come more naturally. We will have days when practice comes more easily and days when it seems to drain us, but ultimately, the efforts we make will pay off. We will one day find ourselves in the position of being able to reflect on the lives we have lived and smile know that each day was a step taken in the right direction, whether it felt that way at the time or not.