Practice

We encourage our kids

To try new things

And when they are not

Immediately gifted or fluent

In whatever they try

We tell them

It takes practice

Everything takes practice

Then we don’t take

Our own advice

When you fall in love

With a person

Or an idea

Or a thing

You immerse yourself

In them

In it

You practice

Without realizing

That you are practicing

And when you practice

You get good at it

You know this person

Or thing

Inside and out

But when that happens

Sometimes we forget

To keep practicing

And we forget

Either what it was

About it that you loved

Or how to do

Whatever it was you did

And as we go

From child to adult

Somewhere along that journey

We stop trying new things

Stop practicing

But as the stresses of life

Push down upon us

And we have less and less

Free time

That is when we need new things

And practice

Even more

You can practice

Meditation

To deal with that stress

Or you can practice

A sport

Or an art form

To spark a new love

Or return to a first love

Like drawing or music

But whatever it is that you do

Remember to keep practicing

Even when it’s something

You do every day

Don’t take it for granted

Practice means opening your eyes

Being present in what you’re doing

Look at it as if you’ve never seen it before

Sometimes practice means

Repeating a very small thing

A piece of the whole

Over and over again

Until it loses all meaning

Yet is perfected

We say practice makes perfect

But practice doesn’t make perfect

It makes peace