When we faithfully practice aspiration, eventually we arrive at a time when aspiration carries US. There’s something about the aspiration itself that carries us along. It’s as if we tap into something far beyond ourselves.

This is great news, because if we had to do aspiration all on our own, we would fail. We don’t have consistent resolve. We don’t always follow through on our commitments. But if practicing aspiration this month has taught me anything, it’s that aspiration is about far more than just me.

Zen Roshi Robert Aitken says resolve eventually becomes an “experience.” He writes, “I learned that will isn’t something that comes from the self. It comes from the nonself, if anything. And it’s something that builds naturally.”

The nonself is a very Zen term. What he means is that there’s a space where we inhabit more than just our particular self. We inhabit nothing, and also everything. But there’s energy available to us, and in some way we can’t really express, that energy is coming from beyond ourselves. Aitken says it’s “like the resolve itself was going to follow through.”

To put this in more spiritual terms, we trust that something/someone Beyond us offers us assistance. A Power intercedes for us, carries us. And unless we’re in that flow, we won’t go that far. We simply don’t have enough power or energy on our own.

To me, this is the true beauty behind habits. Eventually, they lead us. And if they are life-giving practices, they lead us to beautiful places. They help us embody something far beyond what we imagined. Our practices, our aspirations, carry us along. They hold us up.

Rest joyfully in your aspirations. Trust that all is coming. Breathe easy, and know you aren’t doing this work alone.

This post is part of the Paramita Project, where I’m practicing one paramita each month. Read all my posts on pranidhana, aspiration, here. 

STAY TUNED: Wednesday begins a new month, and the ninth paramita- bala!