The blessing of being a work in progress

I hope you all had a great week. Last week I did something my kids didn’t like. Considering they are 16 and 20 that definitely happens quite a bit; I can’t do that many things right :). In response to their disapproval I said “I am a work in progress”. The power of mindfulness is that it offers us perspective and upon further reflection I realized that I use that term as most others do; as an apology of sorts or at least minimally as an explanation for my imperfection in a particular moment. 

I explored further and was reminded that being a “work in progress” is not something we should APOLOGIZE for. Rather, It is a gift to be able to grow and learn; to become wiser and kinder and more open hearted. Being a “work in progress” means we are on our journey; not stagnated, and that is truly powerful. 

We practiced with the idea of… practice on the mat as we deployed the mantra; “I am a work in progress”. It served as a reminder that perfection is not required or expected. That is why we call it PRACTICE! 

What a gift it is to settle into what our bodies offer us day-to-day with acceptance. One day something might not be available that was the day before; that’s because we are a “work in progress” and that is OK! As with many mindfulness concepts, this one is often easier to practice on the mat with the tangibility of our bodies to remind us that we are practicing.

However, the power of acceptance and appreciation can span into our lives because we are PRACTICING off the mat just as we are when we are on it. Softening the unrealistic expectations we have for ourselves of perfection and shifting to an understanding of the power of  PRACTICE, can help us embrace the fact that we are truly blessed to be “a work in progress.”