metroMAG-10-11-metroSPIRIT-MARY V-SMALL-01.10-ROB_Layout 1 1/4/10 10:34 AM Page 10
2010
e spirit
metro
a year to soar
metroMAGAZINE
commitments • COMMITMENTS AT THE SOUL LEVEL January again! Another New Year! Last year at this time, I wrote about making resolutions into reality. I am extremely happy to report that I have witnessed several success stories this past year. Those success stories, and the belief that we can all have one, are among the reasons that I show up at the gym, write these articles, and practice yoga. If your resolutions did not become reality this past year, continue the journey in 2010. “It does not matter how many times we fall. It only matters how many times we get up again.” That saying used to make me angry. Now I am grateful for having heard it so many times. One of my spiritual mentors constantly makes statements of that nature. She is right. We must get up as many times as it takes. Shortly, after last year’s January issue was published, I read an article by Sally Kempton in Yoga Journal on the topic of “meta-commitments”. The concept of metacommitments comports totally with how to make New Year’s Resolutions a reality. • WHAT IS A “META-COMMITMENT”? Sally Kempton states, “There is a nearly magical connection between commitment and breakthrough. Once you have definitely decided, the universe moves too. Your hidden powers, your underground streams of creativity, and your previously untapped capacities for love get activated when you decide that something or someone is important enough to inspire you to hang in there.”
“The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.”
by mary e. vandenack
to live with integrity no matter what. One of my personal meta-commitments is to take total and absolute care of and responsibility for my physical, emotional, and spiritual health no matter what. • HOW DO I DETERMINE WHICH META-COMMITMENTS ARE RIGHT FOR ME? Remember that a meta-commitment is a soul level concept. It does not mean staying at a job that makes you miserable. It does mean making a commitment to the values that will lead you to a job or career path that feeds the soul and it does mean making changes in a way that honors your meta-commitment. To determine what meta-commitments are right for you, take an inventory. Take this inventory over a period of time. I’ve been doing it since I read Kempton’s article a year ago. I regularly meditate. At first, I had a long list of jumbled possible metacommitments. At this juncture, appropriate meta-commitments have clearly revealed themselves to me. They are few in number and represent desired life themes for whatever time I have left on this earth. m
Make a list of the friends that you value most. What are their qualities? Why do you value them? Make a list of what you love to do. Identify the places you’ve been to that touch your heart. What type of music do you love to listen to? When you are at peace, what thoughts cross your mind? What makes your heart sing? Make no immediate judgments about what the list reveals to you. Instead, continue your current journey, but become more observant. Over the next few months, really notice your reactions to people, places, and things. Continue to journal. Your meta-commitments will reveal themselves to you.
– Mack R. Douglas We live in a society of short-term gratification. Being committed to health in the longrun is often compromised by the extra glass of wine, the second helping of a rich dessert, or the television show that interferes with the trip to the gym. The excitement of a new friend or a new relationship may seem more interesting than the challenges of achieving continued satisfaction in a long-term relationship. The latest electronic gadget may seem more interesting than increasing the savings account, but it might keep us stuck in a job that does not make sense anymore on our life’s journey.
• LIVING META-COMMITMENTS Once you have begun to identify meta-commitments, the universe will support your commitment. This does not mean that you sit down and it magically happens. It is a “cause and effect” proposition. Perhaps you have determined that a metacommitment for you is kindness. You note that your particular job is a cut-throat position that rewards backstabbing and punishes kindness. If that is the case, write a resume. Network. Take the steps that will help you find the job that allows you to have an income and honor your meta-commitment.
A meta commitment is a commitment at the soul level. It is a wholehearted life defining commitment. It is a commitment to show up for a person, for yourself, for a long-desired goal (such as writing a book), or for a personal wellness plan, even when you are not in the mood and regardless of how things are going. When you make a meta commitment, you just show up.
If your meta-commitment is to personal health, join a gym. Go to a class. Find yourself a work out partner. Take classes on eating healthy. Find healing friends who enjoy brown rice, vegetables, and tea.
A meta commitment is a fundamental life theme that reflects itself in all of your relationships, in your career, in your spiritual life, and in your hobbies. Some examples are: to live a life of service, to be kind in all circumstances, to give to the community, and
Do whatever it takes to honor your meta-commitment. Be aware. Re-evaluate. Forgive yourself for any mis-steps on the path. If you fall down, get up again and again and again. Re-commit. m
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metroMAGAZINE • JAN 2010