Parashat Yitro: It’s all about Action

It’s not about what you believe. It’s about how you live. Growth requires more than thinking about change; it comes from acting in alignment with our values.

Parashat Yitro got me thinking about my meditation practice and about learning to speak French. These didn’t happen because I thought about it. I didn’t visualize myself into a person who meditates daily or picture myself into speaking French. They happened because I set aside the time and took the actions required.

Yitro is revolutionary because it shifts the focus of spirituality to our actions. To how we live, not just what we believe. And the connection to our spirituality lies in the little moments and the actions and practices that cultivate it.

So whatever you believe in (or nothing at all) and whatever your goals, this takeaway holds true: your actions shape your daily life, which holds the truth the about the person you are. Your choices in the day to day create the person you are going to become.

Spirituality, personal growth, and transformation don’t happen in theory. They happen in practice. For me, that looks like carving out five minutes to meditate, or stumbling through a conversation in French instead of waiting until I'm ‘ready.’

What about you? What are you practicing today?