Weekly Newsletter: New Beginnings

      When children first learn to walk, they stumble and fall many times. But, they don’t give up. They may cry and scream, but eventually they get up and try again. Anytime we try a new endeavor, the secret to success is not in falling but in getting back up. We may cry and complain, and be tempted to quit, but perfection is a process—a stepping forward in the same direction until we have got our legs.
      Spiritual progress is much the same. We might decide to try some new spiritual adventure—at least new to us—and fail miserably at the beginning. Sometimes it is also a matter of unlearning what we have learned. This is difficult. To unlearn something, especially something ingrained in our religious makeup, unsettles us and makes us feel as if we are that infant learning to take his first steps again.
      Yoda said, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” The infant takes a step. He does not try to take a step—he takes a step. The result is judged a success or a failure. He walks or he falls. But the real success is in the doing. As long as we’re trying to take a step—but not actually moving our feet and our legs—we will never walk. Let go of the fear of falling or failing. Believe in the Spirit who has guided us this far and take a step.