Effort Realized

Word for the Day 

Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, 

one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul.

Simone Weil 

These words give me pause today, and continued hope. I can tell you that dividends from daily meditation practice have arrived, in small and large amounts, pretty regularly for me. But I have also had to be "hit upside the head" numerous times before some obvious points of clarity registered in my thick head. 

So, I plan to continue with my regular practice, which I have come to look forward to and now make a priority in my morning routine. The benefits continue to emerge. I have had momentary floods. Mostly trickles and streams. Hope is alive. Light grows. 

As I further ponder this phrase, another one that comes to my mind is "Only the disciplined are free." I wrote about it in this post from April 2015, titled The Journey of a Thousand Posts. It marked a thousand blog posts and the value and energy I gained from the discipline. Here is an excerpt from it:

"Discipline. That is what it takes to compose and publish blog pieces about gratefulness and practicing it in my daily life. To be habitual about this, or anything healthy and sacred, takes discipline. The freedom has especially come in via the energy this practice and the writing involved create. And also the freedom I feel as a writer who believes in her writing more than ever before." 

My meditation practice, the discipline of it, is helping me peel away layers of self-preservation that stunted my growth more than they protected me. Patience and acceptance are more attainable. These are key ingredients as I take this journey to my soul. As I tap deeper into a faith that is expansive, both within me and the world that surrounds me. Effort has already been realized. More will be revealed.