In the realm of the soul sticking to the practices is a key to success. Doing meditation once a week, or practicing meditation only when you feel like it will not carry you very far. A man seeking to develop perseverance asked his teacher for help to develop the quality he lacked. The teacher led him to a huge boulder and gave him a small hammer. The teacher pointed to the rock. “Break this into two parts,” the teacher said and left the man to his task.

At first the man hammered fast and furious and little chips of stone flew away, but after some time his enthusiasm waned and he worked less intently until he finally lost interest altogether. He sat down on the ground in despair thinking he would never break the rock. After some time the teacher returned to check on his student’s progress only to find him sitting down with a dejected frown. The master picked up the hammer and with one swift, hard blow split the rock in two. The student looked up astonished. “How did you do that?” he said.

“You stopped just one blow short of success,” the master said.

Is there a spiritual discipline you’ve let drop? Choosing a practice and sticking to it can lead up a stairway to higher places within the spirit. – From Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life

Bio: Debra Moffitt is the award winning author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life and “Garden of Bliss: Cultivating the Inner Landscape for Self-Discovery” (Llewellyn Worldwide, February 2013). A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices, writing and creativity in the U.S. and Europe. More at http://www.awakeintheworld.com and on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/DebraMoffittAwakeintheWorld