Life's 3 Commitments
I have been inspired by a book I am reading: "Living Beautifully" by Pema Chodron. It is about how to live life more fluidly in spite of the uncertainty and change. It is about how life is going to deal us whatever it deals us and that we can live it in spite of the cards we are dealt or what comes up because it is a part of living.
The three life commitments:
1. Doing our best to not cause harm with our words, our actions or thoughts.
2. Helping others and serving mankind.
3. To embrace the world just as it is without bias. A commitment not to see things as good or bad but rather as a means to awaken and learn.
I wonder whether this Buddhist belief system would not be one we could all benefit from even those of us who are not Buddhist. I makes me think about what it may be like to live so consciously and tailor our words and deeds so that hey would be loving and kind and not say or do things that are mean spirited. So many people that I have met are transitioning into jobs that serve others and make a difference in our world. It seems there is more awareness around serving others and not simply thinking of oneself but rather thinking about those less fortunate. And recently I had a conversation with a client about her struggle finding a job and living in a home with her aunt in a suburb where she felt isolated, lonely and bored. I asked her if she could find something in her current situation that she could be grateful for. It feels like we have a need to see things as good or bad, positive or negative and not as a learning experience and a means to awaken more fully.
What is really so brand new about living our lives with integrity and with love and compassion? My response is, there is nothing new. Yet it feels like I needed to become conscious of these three life commitments. They just make sense to me and what I know is that we often fail to live our lives with these basic beliefs in mind.
Our world would be a better place indeed if we just treated others with love, lifted others in need and viewed life as a series of experiences that we need to have. In fact I think we would honour ourselves more if we made some basic commitments that we know we should make whether they are these three Buddhist commitments or our own based on what we know needs attention and work.
And so here is some food for thought in the form of a question. What are the three commitments that you would like to make if not the three Buddhist commitments? Will you commit to not watching TV as a distraction? Would you commit to not overeating or eating to fulfil some emotional need? Or will you commit to not gossiping for the next three months? Whatever your commitments let them be ones that speak to your evolvement. Once you decide which ones will be your commitments document how much time you will practice it, maybe the rest of your life.
I will share mine with all of you because as you all might guess this is not just about others and I could certainly use some changes in my own life. Here are my three commitments:
1. To speak only words that are positive, affirming and loving to myself and most of all to others.
2. To be aware when there is someone around me that may need assistance or help or a kind word an act on it immediately.
3. To live each life experience without regard for whether it is a good one or a bad one, not judging it or turning the bad ones into my story.
I want to once again invite all of you to the table of self-love and ask that you take this challenge to create commitments and track them for a time. I must say that although we know the "golden rule" of life we are still looking for the gold. Maybe if we simply decide that we are going to live life fully committed then we will breathe more completely and experience it more fully
The three life commitments:
1. Doing our best to not cause harm with our words, our actions or thoughts.
2. Helping others and serving mankind.
3. To embrace the world just as it is without bias. A commitment not to see things as good or bad but rather as a means to awaken and learn.
I wonder whether this Buddhist belief system would not be one we could all benefit from even those of us who are not Buddhist. I makes me think about what it may be like to live so consciously and tailor our words and deeds so that hey would be loving and kind and not say or do things that are mean spirited. So many people that I have met are transitioning into jobs that serve others and make a difference in our world. It seems there is more awareness around serving others and not simply thinking of oneself but rather thinking about those less fortunate. And recently I had a conversation with a client about her struggle finding a job and living in a home with her aunt in a suburb where she felt isolated, lonely and bored. I asked her if she could find something in her current situation that she could be grateful for. It feels like we have a need to see things as good or bad, positive or negative and not as a learning experience and a means to awaken more fully.
What is really so brand new about living our lives with integrity and with love and compassion? My response is, there is nothing new. Yet it feels like I needed to become conscious of these three life commitments. They just make sense to me and what I know is that we often fail to live our lives with these basic beliefs in mind.
Our world would be a better place indeed if we just treated others with love, lifted others in need and viewed life as a series of experiences that we need to have. In fact I think we would honour ourselves more if we made some basic commitments that we know we should make whether they are these three Buddhist commitments or our own based on what we know needs attention and work.
And so here is some food for thought in the form of a question. What are the three commitments that you would like to make if not the three Buddhist commitments? Will you commit to not watching TV as a distraction? Would you commit to not overeating or eating to fulfil some emotional need? Or will you commit to not gossiping for the next three months? Whatever your commitments let them be ones that speak to your evolvement. Once you decide which ones will be your commitments document how much time you will practice it, maybe the rest of your life.
I will share mine with all of you because as you all might guess this is not just about others and I could certainly use some changes in my own life. Here are my three commitments:
1. To speak only words that are positive, affirming and loving to myself and most of all to others.
2. To be aware when there is someone around me that may need assistance or help or a kind word an act on it immediately.
3. To live each life experience without regard for whether it is a good one or a bad one, not judging it or turning the bad ones into my story.
I want to once again invite all of you to the table of self-love and ask that you take this challenge to create commitments and track them for a time. I must say that although we know the "golden rule" of life we are still looking for the gold. Maybe if we simply decide that we are going to live life fully committed then we will breathe more completely and experience it more fully
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