Stillness 6-8: To live impeccably can be life’s biggest challenge. We constantly make errors in judgment, or wish we’d done something better or different, or want to take back something we said. We stumble, fall, make mistakes, have many faults, transgress, offend, and are offended. It’s part of being human.
But we can also improve ourselves, our communities, and our world. How? By trying to live impeccably. Literally, that means trying to live without peccadillos. Most of us can’t live impeccably all the time, but all of us can try to most of the time.
We can do this, for example, by choosing our words carefully and making sure we never lie. We can do this by learning about the source of things we use, so we’re as sure as we can be that we’re not harming the planet. When we create trash, where does it go? Let’s find out and make sure both source and destination are impeccable. And we can do this by standing strongly for fairness and justice. And we can live impeccably by being kind to others. And by always being true to ourselves.
Most importantly, let’s try to be impeccable in our thoughts. There is no room for prejudice, hostility, or bitterness in our thinking—these are peccadillos. Notice how our thoughts begin to change when we don’t allow a little minor idea that’s negative or harmful to lodge itself into our psyche, and instead we send it on its way. Good riddance, peccadillo!
The more we live impeccably, the more we trust ourself. We trust we won’t do harm, even unconsciously. We become more aware of our responsibility and sense of duty and honor. The more we trust ourself, the more others trust us as well. That trust builds and builds.
Best of all, the more we practice doing the best we can, the happier we are. We feel lighter, braver, more optimistic. We can’t change the world all at once, but each one of us can change ourselves into what we hope the world will become: a place of peace, harmony, kindness, and love.