Taking it One Step at a Time

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Have you ever felt that there's just too much on your plate? 

Too many decisions to make, too much to do...and you just feel stuck, and barely even remember how to chant? Well, I can relate! I know some of you feel this way because you write me and ask "Where do I start? How can I accomplish X?" 

So this morning, as I was talking to my life in the wonderful ceremony we do every morning...our "trueing ceremony" of gongyo, our recitation of the Lotus Sutra, I battled again with too much in my mind...and then a total blank...not really knowing where to start...and I just kept chanting. 

Even though I was thinking "this isn't very organized thought" (which is self-slander!) I kept chanting, and I felt this ease come over me. I changed focus from trying to solve ALL my problems at once, and figure EVERYTHING out TODAY, and I just started chanting to be present, to make good decisions, to have wisdom in every moment today, and to take it one step at a time... 

So, after this morning's gongyo, I feel refreshed. Calm. Taking it a step at a time. 

And for all of you who write me and say "I don't know how to get started chanting again." or "I'm finding it almost impossible to chant." I can tell you to just keep going. Don't slander yourself or get down on yourself. Sit in front of the Gohonzon, your precious life, and say "I am breaking through. I will complete the time I promised myself I would chant. I will just keep going." And, as Daisaku Ikeda says: Don't Give Up!