Scripture Jesus said, “Come ahead.” Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!” Matthew 14:29–30 The Message
Spiritual Focus “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
Devotion
Pause for a moment and remember a time when you tried something new and felt overwhelmed. Listening carefully to the teacher, you thought you had a handle on things, but then it became too much. At the root of your anxiety was the fear of failure. Frequently after a first yoga class a new student will come up and say, “There is so much to remember, and I’m sure I’m not doing it right!” A felt need to do “it” right is part of our DNA; we are taught to avoid failure. But the truth is that when we fail we open ourselves up to the opportunity of learning something new. Stepping out of our comfort zone, risking failure, is the place where head and heart meet and we are most open. Stepping out of our comfort zone does not mean for us to invite injury by doing something our body knows is unsafe. But risking failure may mean taking a yoga class for the first time. Failure might even look like taking the opportunity to rest in a given pose while the remainder of the class moves on, even if it may look to others as though we can’t “do” the pose. Be assured that such a choice is an example of courage and wisdom, not failure.
Brene Brown in her book Rising Strong point out that it is when we fail, when we are face downward in the muck and mire of life, that we often get our greatest inspiration in terms of how to move ahead. Accommodating failure in our yoga practice and in our life takes courage and wisdom, and it teaches us about trust. It was only when Peter trained his gaze and focus on Jesus, trusting him, that he stepped out without fear. When Peter looked down he fell, he failed, . . . and he learned. Peter’s failure to focus taught him that he could trust Jesus with his life. With wisdom and courage we accept that we might fail—trusting that this very failure will provide an opportunity to plot a new course.
Breath Prayer
Inhale I Trust Exhale in the Lord
Focus Pose: Pick two balance poses and practice transitioning from one to the other. Perhaps you will transition from Tree to Airplane balance (Warrior III variation with arms perpendicular to the body). Find your focus and then transition from one balance pose to the next on an exhalation, keeping your core strong and your belly gently contracted; then inhale the spine long into the next pose. Notice where your mind and gaze is during the transition, as well as where it is if you fall out of the pose. You may learn something!
