I think for anyone to understand about what the above title means. I think one must fully have a firm grasp of commitment and what that means.
In reality, I perceive that many people do not have a clue how to commit to anything.
Ask yourself how many cars you have owned in the last ten years.
How long does it take you to pick out clothes in the morning? When you order off the menu in a restaurant do you second guess your choice? Have you called over the server to change your order more than a few times? How many relationships have you quickly grown bored with? How many times have you moved in the past five years? The truth is that many of us don’t know how to commit or simply don’t want to.
To commit to something or someone is to have a shared vision of being in the space with that person or situation. If means you are on board for the long haul.
Committing is to grow as a spiritual being. It means to stay the course through thick and thin and it also means loyalty to something. You have decided to add your energy, thoughts and presence to what is present even if occasionally you may have reservations about it. You are open for change and new perceptions of what is. It means you have both feet in and are Not straddling the fence. You are in… not out!
COMMITMENT IS A DEDICATION OR ENGAGEMENT TO A LONG TERM COURSE OF ACTION.
There are many of us who can commit to something or someone for a lifetime but they are becoming the minority.
The path to extraordinary relationships, incredible prosperity and profound peace and satisfaction with your life is in commitment.
In particular I would like to address friendship. I have been vastly let down by what I had considered friendships in my life. I have been betrayed by some who I trusted my life and possessions with. My generosity has been abused by friends and family alike. Unalike family, our friends are chosen by us to be in our life. Most of the time we tell them things we have not shared with another human being. To trust someone we call a friend is like a religion or something. We watch their back and they are supposed to watch ours. When this supreme trust in another is broken it is almost impossible to make it whole again.
It is obvious that if you know without a doubt that you are being used and lied to it may be time to bail. What I am alluding to is, are you a convenience friend?
Do you call someone friend to their face but act like anything but behind their back? If they are sick, are you there with soup, a phone call or something? Are you on time when the two of you have planned something? Is everything you talk about a one way conversation? Are you jealous or supportive of their success? Would you pick up the phone at 3 am if they called? On a scale of one to ten where is your friend in terms of priority in your life?
My grandmother used to tell me when I was a young girl that by the time I was her age, I would be able to count my true friends on one hand. She told me to cherish my friends that they would be my only support system when I got older.
I know what she meant. I also know that no matter what I will always strive to be a better friend to others even if they are not to me. I won’t change who I am
by becoming bitter and closed off.
I do know that somewhere out there are people who wish they had not taken me for granted and had treated me better. There are also people I wish I had not taken for granted and had treated better. With that in mind, I do cherish all my friendships and the uniqueness and individual joys each one brings to my life.
I commit myself more to the friendship circle of life than I ever have realizing how precious each one is.
When I leave this physical form which ones will be at my bedside and who will sing my praises?
Who will weep? Who will grieve? Who will sing and write words about me when I am gone?
Ah, my friends, my teachers of life’s mysteries, thank you one and all, even the ones who struck at my heart and soul and left me wounded and gasping. I am what I am because of all we shared…all of it. To those I call friend now, you are in a special category because you have the tempered me, the softer me, the deeply spiritual me, the empowered me, the highest and best self that I can offer… the world I lay at your feet.
As I commit to you, I ask for nothing but the best from you in return.
Commit or turn away. I say this with love and compassion.
I have learned a lot about commitment through the years and the biggest commitment I have is to and with my creator. In the process of committing to my spiritual growth I have developed a close bond with God.
Commitment is a journey of discovery. There is so much to discover about you in the process. Take a look around you and if there is an unfinished project that is waiting for you, commit to finish it once and for all. Do you have some cards that you purchased to send out and they are still there waiting for you to put them in the envelope and mail them? Where is your spiritual growth right now? Have you been meditating or praying every day or just every now and then?
To become a great friend, you must first become one to yourself. This is just something to think about.
Rev. Lady Diannia Baty 2008
Tags: friendship