We live in a culture with a powerful narrative about progress and improvement. It’s woven into nearly every aspect of society. We are trained to crave what is new and next. We measure our well-being by how much progress we believe we are making and how much improvement we are experiencing.
Our cultural machinery is deeply invested in keeping alive the message that we are somehow behind, incomplete, or not enough.
The spirit and the soul orient to a very different story. In many ways, soulful values run counter to the dominant culture. The soul loves what is old. It leans toward what is stable, enduring, and quietly faithful. It is more interested in the here and now than in tomorrow. It finds meaning by exploring depth—often through suffering, sustained attention, and practices that are humble, quiet, and largely unnoticed.
At the same time, the spiritual life is not opposed to progress. It simply doesn’t make progress the goal.
Here lies the paradox: when we root ourselves deeply in a sacred and soulful way of living, our lives usually do improve—sometimes strangely, often significantly. But this improvement does not arrive by force or strategy. Most often it comes to us sideways. Indirectly. As if through the back door. It is the natural fruit of seeing differently, listening more carefully, and living from a truer center.
So as we enter this new year, my hope is that you will experience progress and improvement. Not as measured by a bank balance, a number on a scale, or the accumulation of accolades—but as a growing sense of being grounded in a nurturing inner life. An inner life that offers steadiness and guidance. A life increasingly enriched by generosity, presence, and the freedom to serve others from a grounded and spacious heart.