Commitment
It really ticked me off when Louise accused me of being
uncommitted to the spiritual center she attended. I'd been interested in the
center and felt a strong attraction to the nature of their spiritual
practice. I enjoyed the online discussion groups and developed a sense of
kinship with this group.
So when she accused me of lacking commitment, because she
felt I should be able to drive several hours a week to the sessions, I felt
stung. I believed I was committed, but was I really, or were my reasons just
excuses?
I gave it some thought and this is what I came up
with.
Ideas:
Maybe it starts with ideas: A book captures our attention
and the ideas in it ring true to us. So we explore these ideas further. Our
ideas about how we can live start to change and as this new information
redistributes old ways of thinking, we gather more new ideas and lean
towards the ones that touch us. All this activity inspires us to explore
even more.
Inspiration:
Inspiration can come from a centre or a wise teacher or
leader. It can come from poetry, music, kinship with others who are
exploring the same thing, books, conversation, nature. From anywhere. And as
these ideas settle in, we are inspired to deepen our understanding, to
investigate more. We intend to continue.
Intention:
Intention is a decision to stretch ourselves in a certain
direction. We begin to trust that by following certain ideals or paths or
practices, we can move closer to our spiritual center. So we decide to spend
a certain amount of time and energy on following this practice. The amount
of time and energy we can spend on this depends on a thousand other factors.
But every little bit of intention inclines our energy into the direction we
have set. As we begin to act on this intention, it becomes practice.
Practice:
Practice can lead to the results we are looking for. And
as it starts to change our lives, it becomes easier to do. It can take
months or years to get to the "I don't want to stop doing this" stage, and
our commitment to it may wax and wane, but when it is right, the energy is
there to continue.
At any point we can bounce back to a need for more
inspiration or ideas to drive our intention and effort. At any point we may
find that our practice is leading us to another practice that suits us
better. Once the groundwork of inspiration and intention are in place the
main thrust of energy is set. And when it comes to spiritual stuff, even
though the paths may be different, there is no going back.
So I guess Louise's accusation was more about her than
me. It stung for a number of reasons, but none of them were about
commitment. Perhaps she was struggling herself with the "I am practicing
hard but don't seem to be getting anywhere" stage.
Did I mention that one? That one is all about
surrender.
Surrender:
That's the important point in our practice when we have
to give over all ideas of achieving anything and leave the outcome to a
greater power. We may need to believe we'll see results to get our practice
going, but in the end we must surrender to that unknown. When we can do
that, it brings a sense of peace and gratitude.
Then commitment has served its purpose.
Stories like these are a regular feature of my free monthly Ezine, Starry Night.
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