How often do we make commitments to ourselves, then not follow through? How often
\ndo we feel so sure that what we have committed ourselves to will come to pass – as if by magic?
\nHow often have we made life changing commitments, only to break the commitment or have it
\nbroken for us? Ouch!!<\/p>\n
I can only speak to myself. I’m constantly striving to be more than I am. I’m constantly
\nstriving to become healthier, more prosperous, to be a consummate parent and friend, to be a
\ngood citizen. And often I am disappointed when I haven’t achieved what I’ve set out to do. I’ve
\nmade a covenant with myself to be the very best I can be at whatever I do, and it’s hard work.
\nIt seems I was born with it, but it never became a reality for many years. It was buried
\nunder a myriad of Life’s pressures, both real and imagined. Now, through wisdom and grace,
\nthat commitment to myself has become critical to my survival. It brings me great joy and great
\npain. And through it all I’m learning to balance the two, to not be afraid to experience with all
\nmy being the joyousness of success and the pain of disappointment and loss.<\/p>\n
Making commitments appears very easy. It’s not! And breaking them or having them
\nbroken is terribly hard. What about marriage, the most precious commitment we make to
\nourselves and to a significant other? The birthing of precious children? Establishing a ‘home’?
\nBuilding a career?<\/p>\n
A painful divorce is often determined after years of pain and conflict? What about the
\nchildren of divorced parents? A covenant for Life has been broken. Who could know the changes
\neach would face over the years? The traumas each would face that totally change who we are?
\nWho could know that familial backgrounds were not compatible? Or that challenging
\ncircumstances inherent in life would destroy a partnership? We can recommit to a greater good.
\nWe can grow and adapt and change.<\/p>\n
The loss of employment? Our society is evolving so fast that life-time employment is no
\nlonger the norm. It’s hard to commit to a future that on the surface doesn’t appear to hold
\npromise for prosperity. Yet, if we accept the loss, if we can look at our talents, our dreams and
\ndesires, and be committed to change, we can create something new and exciting. We can be
\nprosperous.<\/p>\n
What about death – the absolute breaking of a covenant – with a spouse, a child or a
\nfriend. I believe we internalize our commitment to Life so strongly that when death happens a
\npart of us dies. We must learn to live with the loss and not bow to pressures to succumb. We
\nmust learn that the loss of a loved one is a part of the precious life we’ve been granted. And to
\nknow that loss is just one aspect of our lives. We can recommit ourselves to Life<\/p>\n
What about the simple everyday commitments we make. To lose weight, to read more, to
\nkeep in touch with family and friends, to share more, to enjoy the great little community we live
\nin, to marvel at life’s littlest pleasures.<\/p>\n
Commitment! a heart felt pledge or promise! a strong dedication to a cause or belief! A
\ncovenant with myself, to give of myself, of my time and my talents and treasures – to my family,
\nto my friends and my community.<\/p>\n
For me, a fully internalized commitment usually comes\u00a0following significant losses, illnesses or trauma in my life. It seems that I need to be made less in\u00a0order to become more. I know today I am whole. I am all I can be given all the circumstances,\u00a0challenges and triumphs I’ve experienced. I know intuitively that I will always strive to be more\u00a0than I am – at the same time as I’m striving to accept who I am. Quite the paradox, huh?<\/p>\n
Isn’t Life Compelling? ‘Til next time….this is Joan…Smile, wide and often…it is the curve that
\nsets things straight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How often do we make commitments to ourselves, then not follow through? How often do we feel so sure that what we have committed ourselves to will come to pass – as if by magic? How often have we made life changing commitments, only to break the commitment or have it broken for us? Ouch!! …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1920],"class_list":["post-18451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-pathways"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 07:43:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18452,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18451\/revisions\/18452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}