ARE YOU ON YOUR PATH// Practice, Change and Accepting the Past

Flat-lay of plastic-free produce. Perfect looking vegetables from Wholefoods in Ottawa laid on a white cloth: avocados, spaghetti squash, bananas, celery, romaine lettuce, broccoli, limes, cucumbers, green apples, pear, sweet potatoes ,tomatoes, ora…

If you're working to change and interested in growth, there will be slip-ups; when you know that you know better, but cave to an old pattern anyway. You can consciously be aware that something is not healthy, and still do it. This is part of the process of change.

If you’re on a path and sit down to rest but you’re on the path, then you're on the path even if it seems like nothing is happening. If you're in the middle of the path (half-way to plastic-free living) but all you have to eat is crinkly packaged energy bars because that’s what old-you packed before you started, and present-you would not pack this decision; it doesn’t detract from where you are now. You're still on your way; your present just includes some decisions that no longer resonate. While those choices were made from a different perspective, they’re not isolated and the effects could continue on for a period of time.

You can’t change the past or what you used to think was the right thing. But you can make a new decision now, because real change often isn’t instantaneous. It’s practice. We can look back at things we've done and see the problems- what you could have done differently had you known then what you know now. But you-then didn't know so you couldn’t have done anything different. You in this moment are not those decisions. Who you are now, in the present and what choice you make today is where you’re at. The present moment is your point of power.

The desire to change and willingness to try again is what turns practice to reality. Especially if there's a period of rapid growth, it might take a while to catch up with yourself.

So what can you do today in this moment? What would bring you peace, a grounding? How can you return to alignment so that you can calmly, feel confident and empowered to make a fresh choice? To get up and take another conscious step on your path. Could you shift your mindset? Anticipate the learning curve of a new habit, anticipate resistance? Like going into a pool or ocean: stopping, slowly acclimatizing, gathering information, and only then intentionally moving forward.