"Practice successes…practice successes…practice successes.” Gosh, there just doesn’t seem to be anything that comes to mind.  I have been looking at this and looking at this, way beyond the deadline for reflections on this topic.  I’m looking for a particularly vivid story, a success that is unforgettable.  Nothing comes.  What does come:  Just practicing is success.  And, so, that internal conversation led me to sit down and bring the success of practice to awareness.

It is a success every time sitting meditation is on my schedule and I do it.
It is a success every time I show up for sitting and group at the Monastery.
It is a success every time I schedule a working meditation period at the Monastery and show up for it as scheduled.
It is a success every time I sign up for a retreat or workshop.
It is a success every time I realize I am stuck in conditioning and ask for guidance.
It is a success every time I say “thank you” – to someone or something out there or to someone in here.
It is a success every time I remember to come back to the breath and be here.
It is a success every time I see egocentric karmic conditioning for what it is.  [Example, just this morning:  “ ‘I’ (conditioning) is never going to change.  I will not wake up one morning to find that it is not there.  But the relationship with it can certainly change.  Attention can increasingly turn to center, goodness, kindness, compassion, peace, and conditioning will be farther and farther from awareness.”]
It is a success every time I am kind to someone, including me.
It is a success each time I write a reflection for “In Our Practice.”
It is a success every time I don’t believe the voice that says “I don’t want to” or “I can’t” or “It’s too hard.”
It is a success every time I create support systems for my body and my spirit (a personal trainer for physical fitness, a coach for my Best Year Yet plan, healers of all kinds, guides for the journey).
It is a success every time I keep a commitment, to myself and to others.
It is a success every time I ask of a long-held belief “Is that so?”
It is a success every time I am willing, every time I say “Yes!”
It is a success every time a “mistake” does not mean I am bad, hopeless, or hated.
It is a success any time I am able not to take something personally.
It is a success whenever I am afraid to do something and do it anyway.
It is a success when I remember to turn to my wise inner guide for wisdom and compassion.
And, many days, it is a success to get out of bed and be there for the day.

Gassho.