Silence Breeds Commitment
Crafting Commitments: anchors of truth and intention in the sea of life
Commitment is this weighty thing that most of us wear around our neck - it might look good to others for a moment but before long will drag us down. It’s like a heavy anchor. Before long it becomes burdensome and we forget the reasons why we picked it up in the first place and decide to put it down and breathe a sigh of relief.
What if that same anchor wasn’t destined for our neck but instead the ground - some ground in the future? A place where we will surely arrive, but are not yet there? How does that weight feel now? This chain keeping us on track towards our intended destination - all of a sudden it has a different feeling about it. Before the weight was too much to bear whereas now the weight is beneficial - it helps us get to where we want to get to.
The word deadline never instills us with much joy - how about an anchor date? A date in the future you are using as an anchor for your activity - a date which can help you define your activity - a date which provides your work with structure and definition?
I wonder - does an anchor expend great effort to honour its role? No, it simply is, and by its very nature, it offers incredible support. This is how it can be with us.
Can we craft an anchor in such a way that when cast, it is effortless to maintain? The ship is in fact unburdened when an anchor is cast. Could we, when we enshrine a commitment, feel in some way unburdened?
The only way that we can feel unburdened from a commitment is if the commitment is true, if it is cast deeply with strong intentions. We are confident in casting our anchor only if it is well made.
So how to cast a commitment in our mental foundry in a way that it will never fail?
It starts with our thoughts and words - Do we really mean what we say? Are we true to our word? In yoga there is a term ‘Satya’ - this is to speak truthfully or with integrity. I haven’t studied the depths of this aspect but it speaks to me now in that commitment can only be true, it can only be strong if first we have ensured that our words ring with power.
When we say something, we mean something. This is a sure fire way to create a strong commitment. Just as anchors are forged in the white-hot flames, our intended words need to fly from us like spears of truth.
This isn’t always easy in a culture where words are often used so flippantly and without deep meaning or purpose - but this is a beautiful practice to engage with. If we start by saying only the things we mean, rather than going along with the crowd - how much might that help us in the pursuit of our life ambitions?
How many of us go along with a conversation just to appease the other, how many of us fill space and time with words just to prevent some social misdemeanour?
Make friends with Silence and we can find that the words that need to arise will arise, and those will be founded in the depths of your truth, and those words will stand storm or high water.
May our words stand firm against all tides, against all storms. May the words that become our anchors keep us steady and may we find that destined place not too far away.