Green Beer and Committment

Green Beer and Commitment

I’m kind of crabby right now. I will get over it pretty soon, but in general, let me say that of Saint Patrick’s Day, I am not a fan. It comes from living just up the street from a popular Irish pub. It means that for the better part of a week, parking is almost impossible, the sidewalks are liberally decorated with beery eructations, and reeling revelers are enjoying themselves late into the evening down my front walk.  Chopping pukey ice off my sidewalk is a less-than favorite occupation.

I hear people complain about, and then boycott, Valentine’s day as a made-up holiday. Why don’t those same people make the same comments about, and boycott Saint Patrick’s Day, which is at least as made up?

It boils down to commitment. In this case, commitment to the gross consumption of green beer. (I know, I know, lots of interesting cultural events, and so on, but remember, I’m being crabby right now. It happens very rarely, so I’m enjoying it.)

I am fascinated by the whole commitment thing. For many years, I thought I couldn’t commit to anything. I thought commitment was for people who had their acts together, people without problems. Boy, howdy, was I wrong.

I was committed alright, heart and soul, to living a life of strife.

What are you committed to? Want an easy way to tell? Look at your life. Right now. We live the life we are committed to. Are you committed to finding answers, or asking the same rotten questions over and over? Are you committed to happy, easy relationships, or engagements filled with bitterness and spite? Are you committed to peace and harmony, or chaos and discord?

I tell you, it was an eye-opener for me. Look at all that commitment! However it goes, whichever we are choosing, it’s a lot of commitment. If we could harness all that commitment for good, think of what we could accomplish.

Imagine if we each just made the commitment to treat ourselves with kindness, love and respect. How would your life change if you made that choice? Would you make different food and beverage choices? Would you move differently, or change friends? Would you find a new job, or hire a shrink?

Imagine how differently you would treat people around you if you were taking excellent care of yourself. Imagine if your needs were all addressed. Would you have more patience? Would you be kinder? Would you say no more easily? What could you commit to if your needs were taken care of?

I think it seems like a rather glorious life, but it’s just our natural life, the life each of us is meant to live.

So what do we do to commit to those lovely things we want? A commitment is a choice we make over and over and over. And over.

When we are changing an old commitment, we need to be gentle and patient with ourselves. We need to find ways to remind ourselves; post-its, notes on mirrors, a rubber band on our wrist, memos on our calendars.

Oh, and in case you are interested, my crabbiness is gone.

Why do I chose my commitments with awareness?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 03172013