It does not happen all at once, the evolution. They are slow steps, inching towards greater enlightenment. Greater understanding, and a broader context for reality.

It is not like a light switch, from 0 to 100. One moment off, the next full on. It is more like a dimmer, which surges and flickers as the light begins to illuminate within darkness.

The education of the heart and mind is the reason for my existence. It is not easy, but it is necessary. It is the most crucial element in my unfolding.

Too often I have witnessed myself standing at the starting gate, waiting for the gun to go, signaling the start. Only to remain there paralyzed as the race rushes by and around me. The weight of this grows rapidly, and exponentially.

At first is was anxiety about the race, then the missed start, then the lost time, then the comparison to those who compete. These things compound and can render one useless, at least making one believe that to be true.

But the truth here, is that progress happens with the willingness to begin. To move even tiny increments. It is that willingness to start which leads to the greatest accomplishments.

It was said, “man moves a mountain by first carrying away small stones.” And so I, if you dare – we, must remember that progress happens not always in leaps and bounds, but sometimes in whispers and subtle gestures.

I have explored the idea of progress. Of development. Of achievement. Of taking great, grand goals and breaking them down into small actionable steps.

The big picture can be overwhelming. But in small steps we can manage and deliver.

So I beg you: begin.

Do not crush yourself before you have the opportunity to try. It is impossible to know what will come from your efforts until you make them. As daunting as your challenges may seem, they can be realized if you approach them positively.

I have surprised myself. I have created grand artworks starting from simple gestures. An outline here, a rough guitar there. And as the shapes take on greater forms, and start to resemble what only lived before in your imagination, an inspiration that you would never have believed may rise inside.

Failures may discourage us, but only if we let them. It is necessary. I must be willing to begin again. I must be willing to start, over and over. Only then will I get to the end.

Progress is not necessarily pretty. It may be born in the dark and unsightly. It turns from dreadful cries into quiet acceptance, into willing participation, into loving compassion.

Progress is the development of the soul. It is the moving towards the courage to be your real and true self.

And I get there, by starting. I humble myself before the universe. For I am stuck in a starting gate. But I am willing to run. I am willing to bleed, and sweat, and cry, in order to move towards the truth.

Towards the beautiful reality which harmonizes all opposition.

As challenging as life may feel, there is always a choice to move towards progress, and that choice can be as simple as rising to your feet, or speaking the words you’ve been holding inside.

As you begin, it will be far from ‘perfect’, but the starting is a perfection which leads towards a ‘perfect’. One day, if we start, and continue, we will get there.

Every day, every moment is a starting. We are a series of many startings. Many choices.

I keep the goal in mind. Peace, internal quietude which radiates outwards in order to exemplify higher states of being.

But this is often not the case. I often fall. But I am willing to start again. I lick my wounds, but I rise and begin anew.

I am capable of great feats. I believe in my value, in what I have to offer this Earth and it’s people. I believe that I am a force for good. I must believe that.

I must remain willing, or else I will rot in stagnancy.

This moment is a new beginning. A rededication to all that I value. A belief in the quality of courage and kindness.

I have failed in my life, but it does not destroy what I value. It only highlights the person that I want to be. I am willing to start. My inadequacies help to show the way.

The phoenix will rise from the ashes.