A commitment to Something Greater

whatever is is you think you are committed to - think again. i invite you to take a long, easy (not hard… and maybe not even long!) look at what you think you're committed to. is it aligned with who you really are? or is it born out of fear of any number of things… fear of being seen or heard? fear of not being seen or heard? fear of being alone or not belonging? fear of being smothered or over-stimulated? what are you afraid of or for?

the answers to these questions are very important for they inform you, they let you know where your true commitments lie in relationship to where you are right now.  if you're afraid of not having enough (money, love, support…), how rooted in what is real and true is that commitment? if you're afraid of losing something (a relationship, a home…), how does that feed your commitment in that situation? if you're afraid of taking responsibility (by saying "yes" or "no"), what kind of fruit will that bear for you? in other words, how solid and lasting is it?

consider that anything - any commitment - born out of anything other than Love is actually not sustaining or sustainable. and consider that anything else is simply fear-based and will not last. Love is the only sustaining thing there is, the only constant, in this world - and anything born out of anything other than Love will perish.

i've spoken with many people who are having life-changing experiences this year - break-ups, marriages, deaths, births, loss of their homes. these are the events that shake up our old habits and patterns of belief and behavior. this year feels potent and powerful because it is. this is the year of choices, of choosing what we are committed to on the deepest level, and who we are committed to Being. i don't mean to sound apocalyptic or woo-woo or like anything other than an invitation (and if i do, well- there it is!). but this is a rare opportunity to look - really look - at your life and seize the moments that are right in front of you.

you get to choose. even if the choices seem scary or insurmountable, or if you have to let go of what you thought was true for you. this now moment is the point of power.

what will you choose?

and consider that if you've been fighting for or against anything - or you've been marching or protesting or lobbying or working in any way that is for the greater good from a place of anger, frustration or blame, you may want to revisit why you are doing it that way. anything we do that is born out of this place or motivation is only continuing the struggle. consider that the only way to solve any of these issues is to move toward, to remember that we are all reflections of the Oneness, and that anything else is simply an illusion. the separation, hatred, fear-based media messages, war, surveillance... the anger, bigotry, racism, or violence against women, animals or anyone else, is all just a forgetting of who we really are. the ego wants to have anything to hold onto to maintain this illusion because, if there isn't any separation, there's nothing to fear or protect ourselves from other than our own thoughts. in other words, it would be out of a job! what would it do then? i imagine you may be laughing like me, but this is actually a very compassionate question… what then must it do?

i think i may have an answer… or at least a possibility.

what if the ego's job now is to help build the new world? what if, in other words, we get to be the good parents to our egos and guide and re-train them into helping us build this bridge, grow the connections, create the new communities and technologies that are ushering in this new time, this new age?

the trick is to meet people right where they are and simply BE Love. we know where fighting and protesting get us - that is old paradigm thinking and behaving. this is not to say that pointing out the fallacies of the many ways the ego is showing up at this time isn't important. but we must always start with ourselves. always. as Jesus Christ is quoted as saying, "first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

this isn't even about survival. it's so much bigger than that. it's about being who we really are and living from that place. seeing that there is nothing that separates us from bees and bombs, bullies and butterflies, machetes and mothers, from acts of violence and acts of compassion. it is all us.

when we can truly see that, we can make clear, conscious choices to commit to waking up… together. it's not out there. it all starts right here, with each of us.

what are you committed to?