Throughout my life I’ve always been fascinated when someone talked about a daily practice.

I imagined that their practice allowed them to be exactly the person they wanted to be, 100% of the time, especially when the person talking about to me was someone I looked up to, someone who seemed to have it all together.

I tried many times to cultivate a morning practice of my own.

Do you have a morning practice?

Maybe a better question is do you have a practice that is sustainable?

What makes a morning practice sustainable?

I’ve strived to find a morning practice, or any practice for that matter, that I will do consistently. I was reminded recently that a daily practice is like making an investment in your self.

  • If you put $5 a week in your bank account after a time, your money will not only accumulate, it will grow.
  • If you watch a rain barrel fill with raindrops, it may seem empty for a long time, and then it’s overflowing and able to water your plants.

In my own quest to find a sustainable daily practice, I’ve tried many things, and many times of the day.  Things like Samyama, or prayer, or writing to name a few.  Consistency has always been elusive for me, in many areas of my life. Every time I strayed from my practice  even for one day, I considered myself a failure and spiraled into days of negative self-talk for not doing what I set out to do.

Have you ever done that?

Over time, (lots of time) I realized that I was trying to be too perfect. One of the great lessons from my grief journey was giving myself grace when I was striving for perfection.  I have now cultivated a daily practice that is sustainable and that won’t derail if I miss a day.

I begin (most) days sitting in Samyama,  (presence) followed by writing, followed by movement. When I have an early morning commitment, I do at least one of these things some other time of the day.  As I continue to consistently invest in my self-care in this way, I find that I can ease up on myself when I’m tempted to berate myself for skipping a day.

The “results “ of a daily practice may not be apparent on a day-to-day basis, and maybe not even on a week-to-week basis.  Yet I’m beginning to feel the accumulative effect of my daily practice. And that right there is enough for me to continue each day.

You may wonder the same thing, if you’ve been doing a daily practice fairly consistently.

Is it worth the time?

Could you be doing something more productive?

And then you find yourself in a situation that calls for patience, and you know exactly how to access it.

Or the answer to a prayer you’ve been saying arrives in a miraculous way.

Scrupulous devotion to our daily rituals creates alchemy that show up as miracles.

What have you noticed in your own life?