on stepping out

our little votm club has been through six virtues - love, gratitude (or thanksgiving), unity, generosity, happiness, and sacrifice. and i've been patiently awaiting april's virtue a long long time. yep, you guessed it - it's patience :). although the goal has been to focus a month on each, i find that i invariably focus a month on all. can one be sacrificing without patience? can one find unity without love? indeed it is true that if i go through to the core of each, i find that they all share a common center. but it has taken a while for me to come to that understanding.

practicing each of these virtues has driven home one point in particular - that to practice well, and no matter what, one has no choice but to step out of oneself. it's all about the stepping out, isn't it? i cannot love if i am too full of myself. to be grateful, i must learn to appreciate that which lies beyond me. and how can i recognize my oneness with this world if i don't step out? to give is to focus less on oneself and more on others. happiness is a choice to take oneself a little less seriously, and sacrifice is the giving up of one's self. this april then, i shall learn to be patient, as i practice stepping out.