Commitment

Here’s an illustration I use when talking to students about the importance of commitment and setting priorities at the beginning of their journey.Imagine that you are lost and alone in a Fiery Hot Desert, the sun beating down on you as you trudge through the burning sands. You’ve gone for days with no food and little water, and your body is weak with exhaustion and exposure. Heat waves are rising in front of you, blurring your vision, and there is nothing but hot, dry sand all around you.What’s on your mind? What are you thinking about? Are you still worried about what color you’re going to paint the kitchen?Most likely there is only one thought in your mind, and that is getting what you need for survival: water. Desperately you need water. Only this thought keeps you moving, and keeps your feet wading through the scorching sands. Whatever else you may have wanted at other times in your life pales in comparison to this one goal.All that’s left in your mind is an overwhelming thirst, a need for the one substance that will save your life. What are you willing to give in order to get it? What are you willing to sacrifice in order to get it? Aren’t you resolved to commit all your resources at the present moment to get water the thing that will save your life?

Suddenly you come to a patch of sand that’s darker, harder, and firmer than the rest. Your heart beats faster with anticipation as you mind contemplates the possibility that water is there. You fall to your knees, and tear at the sand, digging deeper and deeper as your fingers scratch and bleed. Then the ground goes moist and you feel within yourself a burst of energy that you didn’t know was possible. With renewed strength, you dig faster and harder until you feel the cool liquid on your hand, and you take it and splash it quickly into your parched mouth.

This story is a picture of how priorities form. In a desert situation like this, you become completely focused on what you want and what you need! This is what I mean by commitment. Are you possibly in some kind of desert situation in your life right now? Are there some situations in your life that stubbornly resist a solution? Then you will need to look for the solution with the same commitment as the person in the desert did.

This desert traveler was totally committed to the goal of finding water. As a result, he found it! Was he thinking of the pizza parlor during his search? His girlfriend? The movie he saw the week before? No, there were no distractions here. Just the commitment to find water, and the perseverance to keep going until the goal was won.

In the same way, when you decide you want to find your true Self, you will need to commit to the process. In this illustration, the person’s commitment was forced on him by circumstances. Like the rabbit in the previous story, he had to find water or die! Although this seems like an extreme example, your need to know your real Self can be just as great. Even if you don’t have a life threatening situation that could be healed only by the power of your real Self, it would be a terrible waste to let your life slip away without realizing your full potential.