We don’t expect a child to learn to walk all at once. It’s a process, and each child navigates it differently, at different times. Their path to walking is theirs alone, on their own timeline. And we know this and know we can’t hurry the process. We are kind as we witness a child’s progress.

It’s like that with everything we learn, all through our lives. Baby step by baby step. We have to build up a foundation before we (seemingly) leap to the next level. Really, we just make a very small step after we have taken many other small steps that all together move us perfectly along our life path.

We spend so much time and energy thinking we should be farther along than we are. We compare our experience to others and then judge ourselves harshly for where we are on our path. Comparing causes so much suffering.

If only we could be as kind to ourselves as we are to children, our dear friends, our beloved fur-babies. Our path is perfect for us. And so is everyone else’s.