Today's quotation:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:  that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves, too.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no person could have dreamt would have come his or her way.

William H. Murray

Today's Meditation:

It can be very difficult to commit ourselves, especially in this day and age when so many people and organizations want us to commit our time, our effort, or our money to them.  But what if we commit ourselves to this one, and then something better comes along?  What if we get stuck in this commitment and miss out on others?  It's a question that has gotten much more complicated as the world has gotten smaller, as more people have more ways to influence us, and as we have access to many more of these same organizations.

It's important that we take care when we commit ourselves.  Many a marriage hasn't worked out because one or the other partner hasn't learned some important things about their partner-to-be, and finds out after the commitment has been made that things aren't exactly as they seemed to be.  I've committed myself to organizations that turned out to be much different than I thought they were, and it's been difficult to step out of the situations.

But commitment is absolutely necessary if we wish to accomplish something that will last, if we wish to live up to our potential and not go through life making no important contributions.  Sometimes, commitments are rather extreme, as when I joined the Army.  But I was ready to make that commitment, and while I was in I did my best always to do the best I possibly could under any circumstances.  When I commit to teach at a school, I make that school my primary focus in life, and everything else becomes secondary because my students deserve me to be all in with them, instead of half with them and half with something else.

Many people are dissatisfied with their jobs because they never commit themselves fully to the work.  They're simply earning a paycheck and wondering why (and even complaining that) they're not getting promoted or getting raises, when their work reflects that lack of commitment.  When we fully commit ourselves to something, we know it extremely well and we're able to do things that otherwise would be impossible.  We don't have to work 60 hours a week, though, to be committed to work-- we still have to maintain balance between our commitment and the rest of our lives.  But without that commitment, it's pretty clear that nothing special is going to occur as a result of the efforts that we make.

For further thought:

We receive from life, from every experience, from each interaction, according to what we have given.  When we commit ourselves fully to an experience, it will bless us.  When we give ourselves wholly to any moment, our awareness of reality will be heightened.

Karen Casey
Each Day a New Beginning

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