What does repentance actually mean in practice?

Repentance just means to turn away from. When we have sins in our life, we turn away from them physically. Say somebody has the passion of drinking, a desire for too much alcohol. What does it mean to repent from alcohol? It simply means to stop drinking. Stop going to the bar, stop putting yourself in those situations, stop drinking to excess. That's what repentance is.

Repentance is always linked with activity. It's not an idea, it's an actuality. Somebody says, I'm living my life hedonistically, or I'm living without God. What does it mean to turn away from that? To say our prayers, to pray every day. That is a repentance, because now, instead of turning to nothing, or to my own self, I'm turning to God. Even that is a repentance.