On Commitment

Some people believe that we live many lives, and each life serves as the foundation for new lessons we need to learn to carry with us in our souls. Maybe it's so that we can be our best self when we finally go to heaven.

I think if this is true, I must have lived many, many lives. I've heard people who have lived many lives have a terrible time deciding what career to take on, or making other hard decisions. Because, well, there's so many things it seems we can do. There's too much to pick from. Too much to be passionate about. Too much we could be good at. And so we stall. And think. And think too much.

Not only can I not pick a career, I can't pick a book to read. I can't pick a story to write. I can't pick a sentence to say. I can't pick a person to know. Because there are too many. There is too much good that can be done. There are too many options. There are too many words to read and write. There are too many people to meet. There is no way to know which choice is better. And each choice is an investment of yourself. And we can't pick them all. And we can't do them all. We have to pick. We have to choose.

And that. Is. Daunting. 

And I suppose, in this life, that's the lesson I have to learn. I suppose I have to choose. I have to accept that one is good enough. And one will lead to many. Not all, but many. Because if I don't choose then I am left with none. I am left with wasted creativity, wasted thought, wasted effort. I am wasting away the good that could be done out of my very own mind.

So I think we have to choose a path and not think about is as if it might be the "right" or "wrong" choice. We have to look at it as a commitment. Say, "I will commit to this decision, and in committing I am sure it will lead me where I need to go." It might be a smooth or bumpy ride, but either way it doesn't mean you made the right or wrong decision. Anytime you commit to something you win. You learn. You persevere. And you take the knowledge you learned on that path and you apply it to your next journey; your next commitment.

So I will pick a career to have. I will choose a book to read. I will decide on a story to write. I will choose a person to know. I will pick the words to say. And I will commit to them and appreciate where they take me. Because that is better than standing still and watching the world spin by.