In the sunny morning, father and daughter enjoy time together on a sports court.

She, at the top of her nine years, plays the father of a goalkeeper and kicks the ball several times aiming for the desired goal.

Lack of practice, lack of experience, of course, and most attempts are frustrated.

Every time the ball goes out she hears Out, or Missed!

Her father notices that she is becoming discouraged, losing patience with herself, making angry sounds every time the ball does not go in the expected direction.

He then changes the strategy. He does not just want to make it easy for her, because he knows that is not how you prepare a child for the world.

But, instead of saying you missed it or out, with a frustrated tone, he begins to scream: Almost!

And this almost comes with a tone of excitement, of joy, of you are almost there, of just a little more!

Incredibly, the child´s mood changes. She keeps kicking it out many times, on the beam, but with immense joy, the joy of those who keep trying without feeling discouraged.

On that exciting almost, that the father was saying, was the compliment praise for trying, there was the congratulations for her persistence, for her effort, showing that the more attempts there were, the more balls inside she would get.

And that was exactly what happened. She started to hit a lot more than before. And each previous mistake, turned into a fun Almost!, full of laughter.

*   *   *

Let us think about our lives, our attitudes. Most of the time, wishing to get it right, our intentions are good and are within the understanding we have over this or that situation.

To call it a mistake, a failure, a defect, seems cruel to ourselves.

Maybe if we turn the I couldn´t, I missed it, It did not work, into almost, we can realize that we tried, that we went after it and that we need to give ourselves new chances.

Divine laws always give us new chances. Why wouldn´t we give ourselves?

It is not a matter of deluding yourself with pleasant words, as so many may think. It is about being self-demanding, yes, but demanding it in the right way, without cold judgments, self-discouragement or self-deprecation.

The almost of the father-daughter game corresponds to saying or feeling: This time I did not make it. I came close and now I know how to do it better. Or I haven´t gotten there yet.

When someone fails, in any activity, it does not mean weakness of effort or lack of well-directed will, actually it becomes an element of experience for future attempts.

Every attempt that does not result as a success, becomes a message of conquest of value that may be used on a new occasion, providing success at another time.

The will, for that very reason, does not give in when the results die, repeating the experience as many times as necessary until the interests that are in mind are reached.

Having drawn an inner objective, complex forces immediately present themselves for it to be conquered.

By repeating the attempt, we create the habit of acting and, consequently, it becomes a vital element for the will.

Without a well-directed will, there is no healthy life.

 Spiritist Moment Team, with phrases from chapter 2, item Vontade,
 from the book Triunfo pessoal, by Spirit Joanna de Angelis,
psychography by Divaldo Pereira Franco, LEAL publisher.
January 17.2022.