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My little one is 9 months old and has learned to crawl, now trying to stand and walk, both on his own and with a little help from anyone available.
Sometimes as he’s trying to crawl, he’ll be moving backwards instead of forwards. What is one stumble and fall when learning to walk? Do people look at my baby and say, “You’ll never be able to walk because you fell this once”? Of course not! They usually say, “That’s okay,” and pick him up and set him back on his feet again.
Watching him struggle without getting discouraged is always a good reminder of perseverance. The takeaway lesson I get from watching this every day is two-fold. One is that everything takes practice and (to quote Jocko) there is no shortcut. Most people (including me) don’t get things right the first time they try something new. And the second is to have faith in other people trying new things.
The joy I see on his face when he makes forward progress, both in crawling and walking, more than makes up for all the times when he has ‘failed’ and all that is forgotten in the moment when he’s about to reach his goal (the toy he’s interested in or going to a favourite uncle to play with).
As we are in the second quarter of 2021, let’s be encouraged that, no matter what has happened in the first quarter, it has been just a first step in our journey of progress down the Path. Tomorrow is another day to try again to reach towards our goals and the progress we’re working for. Let’s also find others who we see are also making a bigger effort this year, either online or in person, and give them a word of encouragement.