spiritual commitment

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I thought I would put this excerpt of an email I sent here:

"Commitment" is one of those ten-dollar words in spiritual endeavor. Verrrrry important! Break out the fife and bugle band! But what it is and how it is expressed tends to become less grand upon examination. Commitment is not so much what anyone sees in another. That is just fife-and-bugle-band commitment -- good for getting the attention perhaps, good for inspiring intention perhaps, but not yet with meaning much beyond the saltiness of potato chips. Yummy ... but where's the beef? Where is the honest nourishment? In the end, the best sort of commitment is just what you do ... what you do.

When you do something, there really is no such thing as commitment. You are just doing it. Others may marvel at your commitment, but you don't: You're too busy just doing it. And that is enough -- just doing it. No extras. No philosophy, no religion, no ten-dollar words, no comparisons. Just pounding a nail, just kissing your friend, just thinking about "commitment." No past, no future, no present ... just doing whatever it is you are doing. At first, this seems like an impossible chore ... so easy and so obvious that it's impossible. But with a little practice, on and off the cushion, things tend to fall into place. Since there is no escaping what fluff-mongers call "the present moment," practice helps build the strength to stop trying to escape. Maybe this is commitment without the "commitment."

I dunno. Just a few thoughts.

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