Isn’t it strange how we can be on what seems like a never-ending merry-go-round searching for joy. Constantly thinking we will find it in the perfect job, house or partner – if only I had ‘this or that’. So often we drift from one thing to the next, never really committing to life in full, always thinking the next thing will be the one that changes our life.
But what if it was not something outside of us – such as a job, a house or a relationship – that brings about true change? What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?
I have been part of that searching for something outside of myself that I thought would make me happy in life – the religion, the partying, the cool gang, the art, the guru, the yoga, the job, the travel, the hundreds of career changes, the diet, the perfect body, the relationship, the self help, the new age, the course, the qualification, all the “if only this or that then my life would be different”…
But the fact is, none of them worked. I thought they did for a while, but all they did was distract me with moments of excitement, happiness, sadness, recognition, acceptance, complication, numbness or obsession, all to avoid feeling what was really going on.
In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.
I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around. On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life
With the support of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine this has changed. I now know commitment is not about some huge big thing, as we have been led to believe, but it is about everything in life, no matter how big or small. Such as:
- Booking a doctor’s appointment when I first need it and not putting it off.
- Booking a dental check up, not waiting for them to get in touch.
- Getting the car checked, and whatever needs done.
- Going food shopping, not leaving it till the cupboards are bare.
- Creating the space to prepare and eat food that will truly support and nourish me.
- Taking my time being present, not rushing, stressing and thinking about the day, week or even month ahead.
- Going to the toilet when I need to and not putting it off because I’m doing something else.
- Opening letters and not just putting them away in drawers – usually bank statements.
- Being responsible with money, not spending more than I have but also feeling I am worth spending money on.
- Saying yes when I mean yes and no when I mean no.
- Being in a job fully present, not looking for another job or wanting to be somewhere else.
- Being totally committed to being in an intimate relationship with someone and not worrying about past hurts or the future, the ‘what ifs’ or buts.
- Going to bed when my body feels tired, not staying up “just another five minutes”.
- Speaking up, in full, not holding back my expression.
- If I say I will do something, committing to it and taking responsibility, not making excuses to avoid it or doing it with resentment.
- Being responsible for myself and how I am – not dumping my day, stuff or issues on anyone else.
- Expressing myself in full, in everything I do, be it teaching a class, walking the dog, how I do my hair or what I choose to wear, not holding back any part of me.
Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.
Like saying yes from our absolute fullness and meaning it, from connecting with a friend, making a commitment to stop on the way home from work to buy a certain food because that’s what we feel to eat, or saying yes to a relationship, to ourselves, I want to be with you 110%.
The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength. There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.
What I have also come to discover, is that commitment is much more than all of this: yes, this was and is a great and huge start, but I have had the opportunity to go much deeper with this – commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.
For example when I go for a walk, I am walking with me, not planning my day or thinking about everything else; or when I am teaching a class – yes I am committed to prepare lessons, turn up each day, but what makes all the difference is that I am there, fully present with myself and the children.
When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.
Inspired by the deep love and commitment of Serge Benhayon, Michael Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
By Gyl Rae, 37, Teacher, Scotland
Further Reading:
Motivation To Exercise – Could It Be About Commitment?
Taking Responsibility and Making a Re-Commitment to Life
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
This is a clincher of a statement, ‘on a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life’. It’s that commitment that makes the difference to how your life will run with you. Non-committed impacts you constantly and the body, committed then life is right by your side, nudging you with its offering to evolve and grow. Big difference…
“There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.” – the question is how much do we allow of the former to enter into our day and our lives? And yet we are totally capable of the latter, a life of simplicity and joy. It astounds me to feel how stubborn we/I can be to hold onto those things we/I know are not supporting us/me, when we/I know or have felt the truth.
The very things that we so often try to run away from are the very things that we actually crave if we were only to realise the expansion that they offer and the connection to God that happens as a result.
That’s how reactions occur. The very thing we avoid are the very thing that is within us for healing. What we see in another that causes the reaction, is the exact thing that lives within us because we haven’t dealt with our hurts. Simple, now that’s what will let us get on with life from a different perspective. Ready to move forward?
Gyl, the list you have presented here is so simple and practical and highlights the fact that taking responsibility for ourselves is not actually difficult nor hard. And yet our reality is commonly to resist this.
Committing to life in full is joyful, ‘The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength.’
When I am committed – it feels like everything about whatever that is, every detail, every moment of it, feels very precious and I feel just so content and appreciative that I somehow am having a relationship with it.
Thank you Gyl, it’s a comprehensive and very supportive list of the ways you felt to commit, it’s given me a lot to look at! To be honest I don’t think I have ever truly looked at what commitment to myself means, I can see it’s there is some parts of my day, but I am not committed to loving myself in others – how glorious, more love to live and commit to!
Melinda I felt the same when reading this blog, wow there’s a lot here I’m not really fully committed too, it’s as though I have placed conditions on myself and God as to how I will be 😦 That’s something to stop and consider… where are these conditions coming from?
Mary I’ve asked the same thing of myself recently, “where are these conditions coming from?’, and what I came to was that they are supplied to complicate life and delay my return to my soul and God – basically, they do not come from love.
Yes it is simple really commitment to living for me means committing to honouring what I feel in any moment in my heart and acting on it. It costs nothing and as you say Gyl it can be started immediately in the very next moment.
Commitment to self makes so much sense, ‘What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?’
Love it Andrew – and yes it costs nothing … we are not forking out monthly for supplements or vitamins and having to pay anything. It is simply asking us to commit to ourselves.
Commitment to life brings a purpose and joy in all we do.
“Saying yes when I mean yes and no when I mean no.” This is a really great point as part of self care, as it places a tremendous pressure on ourselves to dishonour how we feel and what we know is true for ourselves.
Love it Melinda – the little things that matter big time. This is how self care begins and we begin to build or re-build our relationship with ourselves – that sensitive and caring part of ourselves that is so wise and gentle.
The list of things to attend to is super impressive and reflects true commitment to life, with no task being less or more important than another. It is, after all, one life as Serge Benhayon has on many occasions presented..
Tips and tools for life have to be made practical and real – and hence can only come from one who has lived and experienced life and not just read about it from a book. Thank you Gyl for sharing your lived experience so that we can all be inspired by its simplicity.
Gyl, I love the dot point list you have given, for it shows us how simple it can be to commit to life and do what is needed. We are the ones who step in and make things complicated or convoluted with our miriad of excuses and reasons for why we cannot commit in truth to life.
I can relate to the fact that commitment has to deepen otherwise I start to sink. This moment in time just requires more of the same without looking for a end point or getting over my limits.
I love how you broke down commitment to self and life into simple parts.
I love the list of commitments as some examples, this one was important for me today, ‘Taking my time being present, not rushing, stressing and thinking about the day, week or even month ahead.’
Thank you Gyl, this is always such a great read, practical, clear and inspiring. I have recently become more aware of the pictures I have that I believe will bring me happiness, etc, and what they really do is take me further away from myself, it’s like chasing a mirage. Even if we tick the pictures box and achieve the ideal, life still feels empty because we ourselves, our true selves, are missing. I like this line because it really highlights the futility of chasing things outside of ourselves, and what happens instead when we commit lovingly to ourselves, “What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?”
What I find interesting about commitment is the more I commit to a certain area of my life it shows me the lack of commitment in other areas I have, it makes such a difference when we live commitment consistently in all areas – a work in progress that will offer so much in return.
Work is an amazing place to build this commitment as we have many things that we either love, like, dislike or hate at work. If we think we don’t like our jobs, can we still commit and get On with what we are being asked to be and do? Or are we looking elsewhere? This looking elsewhere is draining and can consume us. Are we looking for something better? Something more? Something different – to be another person, in another job? In another flat? In another relationship?
Or can we accept everything that we have in front of us and are already part of, can we accept ourselves? And bring all of ourselves – yes the bits we love about ourselves but maybe keep back – to every aspect of our day?
When I am committed to self, being with me and my body and not distracting myself with thoughts or things to do, I am committed to everyone else around me.
Commitment is a knowing I am offering something out of this world.
I like the play on words here Rik – us being out of this world and offering this is so gorgeously true and yet the being out of this world is our true normal hence commitment to who we are is key.
Oh Gyl,
I recognise so many of those behaviours on your list, work in progress and bringing love, understanding and acceptance to oneself is the only way to truly heal.
‘Commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in,’ So true Gyl, I used to run away from commitment, but it’s actually a very loving thing to choose. When we begin to commit to one area of our life it becomes easier to commit to all areas of our life.
Anna this really highlights how we believe commitment is in the things we do but it’s actually in the quality of our being.
I have equally also taken on the search for something or someone to make everything feel right and content, not wanting to take responsibility for the contentment that is mine to live, wanting instead for it to be given.
Joy is forever inside us waiting to be activated… by ourselves.
Thank you Eduardo for highlighting the fact that no one else can do the joy part for us – it is about us simply re-connecting to what we know to be true and allowing that to unfold in our lives.
Being in the moment fully and not being distracted that is commitment to us, to life and to everything and when we live this way, life becomes so much simpler.
I love it when life is simple, ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’
Being committed to life is seen through the eyes of the body that has lived to that moment. We will see, hear and read this blog with a particular willingness to be aware or not. As we deepened the relationship with our body and how we do what we do, we deepen our awareness of when we are distracted and therefore disconnected from that conversation. The more we live that way, the more we discover what is there to be re-connected to.
Life becomes much simpler when we bring the connection in-house and truly love ourselves. This for many, as it was for myself, is the missing link without which leaves us feeling unsettled and searching.
There is a lot of joy in commitment to ourselves in all the little things instead of making it all about other people and what we have to do. There needs to be a balance with all of this to be able to be fully in life.
It tends to be easier to commit to something outside of us then to commit to ourselves, to commit to feeling who we are and staying with that. There is an honouring and holding in committing to ourselves and our bodies and what it needs. It changes everything when our main focus is committing to ourselves, then it’s easy to commit to exercise, work, relationships, eating well etc.
I can feel how we might use the word ‘commitment’ when in fact we are engaged in activities to distract and drive ourselves further apart and away from our inner-most, while a true commitment starts with ourselves and it is about bringing that inner-core of ours with us in whatever we do.
I can so relate to that lost/listless searching and the excitement of picking up a lead or thread that would go only so far and then the initial shine of whatever it was that caught our attention would go dull again. The thrill of the search would distract us again from that emptiness. I am picturing someone going in circles and then realising the answer is right in front of them, in every detail of their commitment to themselves.
There is so much joy in saying being 110% in. And it is a great question to ask ourselves and one that got me considering the answer – do we want to be with ourselves 110%?
A beautiful reminder – commitment in full to self is all that matters; everything else then takes care of itself.
Saying YES to the growth and evolution on offer has been my focus the last months. And my body actually loves this momentum of ‘yes’ and clearly reveals what is in the way of going deeper and committing more.
I know that when I commit to myself it makes it so much easier to commit to life. Otherwise I am just ‘trying’ to commit without having the sense or experience of it for myself first.
Gyl your blog has put a bomb under me – I had not joined the dots of the pain of procrastination with lack of commitment – duh!! Thankyou!!
Commitment is a beautiful thing, it’s the magic word for me…one that supports me to understand so much: what’s working or not working in my life usually comes down to this one word. With commitment comes integrity and the appreciation of ourselves, of being fully with whatever you’re with….especially being with me first and foremost. I loved how you brought it back to this essential component of commitment, Gyl. Thank you.
Great comment about the half committing, I must look our for that in my own life. Kind of ticking the box but not really committing. I agree that commitment has been twisted, it can even be used as an ideal to stay in a marriage or job for example, when it’s actually more loving to let go.
I really enjoyed this Gyl, all your dot points are different ways we commit to self. Commitment as a word is a bit like “responsibility”, it’s meaning has been changed to something that feels like a burden, or a trap, and to be avoided. As you share it is not something awful at all and it in fact brings a lightness and joy to life.
Yes I agree, I appreciate the dot points because they offer an opportunity to see the many and varied ways we commit or abdicate responsibility and the power we have to change that approach at any point simply by a shift in focus and commitment…and upping our responsibility.
Commitment is not as scary as I once thought, in fact the more I commit to life the more expanded and lighter I feel, opening the way for greater love to be discovered.
When we simply just get on with what needs to be done, it eliminates the game of procrastination immediately.
Committing to life is to be all that you are with the wisdom that there is so much more for you to be.
I love what you describe here Gyl, as it shows that all that it takes to live a fulfilled life is to be there in every moment and not think about any other moment, past or future, as better or worse, but just be present and feel the fullness of every moment.
Yes, I agree, and it is simple as that. All our complications are just a distraction to avoid the power and the space that is there when we are completely present in the moment.
“commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” Totally with you Gyl, as without a quality of presence in all we do we cannot be fully committed as we simply are not there.
In the honouring of what is there to be done each day, a forward plan of life that supports the days ahead is created. If that drops, I find myself with a backlog of duties to complete, and that ensures being in the present is not easy.
Thank you Heather. When I let things slip and don’t attend to what needs attending to I can create a back log that is overwhelming and I either get irritated and annoyed, frustrated with myself and/or I can feel like giving up and giving in – both these reactions effect my relationships, the way that I am with others. I feel the huge difference that honouring what is there to be done each day makes. As I do this it is as if I create space for whatever is next and a lightness that supports my movements.
The eternal pursuit of happiness through getting to be an appealing image. This is a way of doing life that lacks and is incapable of building foundations.
Commitment is lightness, joy and simplicity, that when embraced in full, leaves no room for anything else.
I love the depth of understanding and different examples you offer here about a commitment to life. It shows how simple it is and the depth of the benefits on our bodies. Anxiety decreases, I can speak from my own experience on that one and when it increases, it is worth coming back and asking myself where I went!! Chances are I have galloped into the future and not stayed present in the moment. I will enjoy deepening this relationship with commitment today as a new foundation.
Commitment to being in life is an ever developing process, that gradually removes all the ways of not being committed to life, for example alcohol to name but one way of escaping.
Great blog to read today on commitment as I am currently reimprinting my commitment to self and to life, and already I feel the subtle difference in my movements – there is a renewed purpose to be fully present and to move my body more as I have a habit of sitting too long on the laptop.
Thank you for your comment, I haven’t really examined in full where I live the false version of commitment, but I can relate to your comment as a beginning point that not taking sufficient breaks at the computer for work highlights being committed to the job above my own wellbeing.
It is through the consistency of our commitment to self that life becomes effortless, there is no trying needed only the surrendering of our bodies to that which is divine.
I love this response Francisco – it is as inspiring as Gyl’s article – and deepens its message.
Reading this, I realise there is another level to go to with my commitment and that is saying yes to how I am doing the things I am doing. That means saying a big fat ‘yes! I am here doing these things because I choose to and doing them in this quality, with me, is my choice too.’ rather than a task list of things I need to do. This brings me back into the equation. Is there any point in doing the things we do unless we are really present and there?
Without ever reading the blog yet, the title says it all. I am exploring commitment to life at the moment and have realised that there are basics around exercise, food, emotional wellbeing and sleep that I’m not covering. we can trick oursleves that we are committing to our jobs more, to relationships more, expression appreciation etc. but without these basic bases being covered then where is our commitment really?
“I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around.” To me this beautifully sums up the absolute arrogance and irresponsibility so many of us live with. We are more than happy to cry “Poor me!” and yet we know the way out of our misery is at our fingertips and we are refusing point blank to take responsibility for ourselves, preferring instead to blame others for our woes and expecting them to get us out of it.
We do know our power to make changes in life, otherwise how would we know how to deny it?
No day is wasted if we make it about returning to Soul – the great love and light we each in essence are. We live on a planet where we are blessed with endless cycles to assist and support us shed what has got in the way of our true expression, until this journey is complete. And even if we walk with eyes downcast to such beauty, we are forever showered in love on our path back home to the immense and undying love within our hearts.
So commitment to life is simply doing that what is there to be done with our full self and not half hearted or something full on and other things less, because in the end it is our self that we deny and dismiss and not the task at hand.
The cycle of always looking forward to the next high is like going on a roller coaster, never feeling content or steady. Then when there isn’t anything exciting around, the next best thing could be starting an argument or making drama out of nothing. What I’ve been finding is committing to live and what is needed keeps things super simple and my energy levels balanced.
Commitment to self and commitment to life have always been big issues for me . . . on the other hand commitment to dreaming, distractions and reacting to life has never been a problem . . . so it is really just about transferring my priorities!
So well put Kathleen, we are committed to lots of things and ways of living but do they support evolution and growth or stagnation and exhaustion.
You are correct Kathleen, we can’t really say in this context that we don’t know how to commit, because it takes tremendous commitment (or is that stubbornness?) to continually do the things we do that are not truly loving for ourselves.
“If only…” can be such a distraction and dis-empowerment to ourselves – thinking we need a certain thing from outside of us before we can be truly who we are or be truly content/ joyful/ complete…
I agree that by you being present in full with yourself and the children you teach will make a big difference, ‘commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.’
I am sure many people can relate to this, distracting ourselves with numerous ‘things’…the list is endless, ‘In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.’
“I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around. On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life.” I know this feeling, only too well. I never saw the connection to life being about committing to fully being me though.
It is shared here about committing to a relationship with ourselves. This is very poignant, when I choose to do this it is to me a commitment to being fully with my body, open and willing to allow my essence from within to move my body and prepare me as I live. For life brings to me, whatever is needed for me to evolve.
Choosing to commit to self and life in full can be amazing, ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’
Commitment to me and life is just like self love, very simple and practical and o so joyful.
Commitment is knowing without a doubt that you are an integral part of the whole.
And knowing that your part counts.
When we feel that sadness deep inside of us, it usually means we are disconnected. If only we taught this in schools. It would be so supportive, to learn that this is the case and learn how to come back to oneself, a life lesson that would change the world.
I too used to search outside for that missing something, whereas the joy and love is inside us when we choose to connect and commit to ourselves – a bit like my middle name, joy, which I used to keep hidden, but was there all along.
That’s a beautiful analogy Lorraine.
Commitment is knowing without a doubt who we are and living in the responsibility that this knowing brings.
Well said Williem – and these movements are simply delay from the fact that we will have to open that letter or answer that email – the same as us returning to Soul – we can delay it, put it in the to-do pile and delay all we like, but it will happen.
With everything that is on offer in this world promising fullfilment, satisfaction, eternal happiness and delight – nothing can come close to the enormity of who we actually are and where we are from and our bodies are the only way for us to connect and feel that majesty.
Gyl I like your practical list of ways to commit to looking after yourself.
Thank you Gyl, there is great power here in being committed to even the simplest parts of life, as they are what makes up the life in whole and so no part is left out or forgotten, neglected or dismissed. Everything matters and therefore everything can be full of the joy of being you – even in the toughest of times, you are still in there with all that love and commitment.
It’s very interesting how we could be really into something while distracting ourselves at the same time.
Life is super loving to us, everything that I feel I dread is a message from life saying, hello commitment? And it is really up to us to choose to hear these light hearted messages or not, and these messages will escalate in intensity if we ignore them as love just does not give up and its expression, and the constellations in life just do not give up in loving us, and showing us the deep love that we are.
I hadn’t considered the moments I dread in that way, thank you for the nudge to consider those moments in a more positive way. To take a step back and re-assess, remind myself I have the skills to deal with what is in front of me and then re-commit in full feels so supportive.
I still have a belief that committing to life, to me, to being fully present in what I do is tedious and tiredsome, I tell myself it’s hard work and if I do it for a while I praise myself for being committed. The thing is how can committing to me be hard? Why would I think that being with me, with God is tedious? I know when I commit to something in full it feels amazing, the issue for me is that it is inconsistent. So I ask myself, what if I committed in full consistently today (as a start) to everything I do, equally so?
‘I have been part of that searching for something outside of myself that I thought would make me happy in life – the religion, the partying, the cool gang, the art, the guru, the yoga, the job, the travel, the hundreds of career changes, the diet, the perfect body, the relationship, the self help, the new age, the course, the qualification, all the “if only this or that then my life would be different”…’ The list you describe here Gyl could literally have been written for myself. I have searched fruitlessly in all the same places thinking, ah this one must be it surely but nothing would change the way I felt within. I guess that’s the clue, if it’s our inner world that feels unsettled why are we so fixated on our outer worlds because surely the key is by looking within?
Committing to life is a fun exploration and discovery of what feels right for my body. Its like a continual stocktake and refinement of what works and what doesn’t to continually deepen my relationship with me more and more. I was also one to daydream and think about where I would be next week or a year ahead and that was also very draining on my body. Being present and connected to our lives in moments offers us a grander scope for learning and an expansion of joy that is beautiful to feel and the flow of the day is much more simpler too.
Ah.. That old chestnut… ‘My life will be great once this happens’ or ‘everything will be fine and I’ll love myself more when my body looks like this.’ And so on. Do we realise that we can live the future now. That everything is available to us right now and the only reason we delay is because we don’t give our bodies a chance to express the fact to us.
The practicality and normality of commitment and responsibility comes across in this blog. Neither are onerous, heavy or burdensome. The opposite in fact – light, joyful and simple if there is a willingness to accept them fully.
I feel like you have supported us all to see commitment as completely normal and highlighted how we check out and get distracted which makes for a trail of ‘what if’s’ or ‘if only’s’. Committing to life in full is vital for good mental and physical health.
This is a beautiful sharing Gyl on true commitment; I would often leave many loose ends and not commit to seeing things through to completion and how this drains my energy long term. I am now being more responsible and instead of creating many loose ends I am choosing to commit to what’s in front of me and it’s interesting how simply things will complete then that allows me the space and the energy to commit to another area in my life.
This morning I have been feeling all the areas of life that I gloss over and ignore because I can’t be bothered to deal with them, I think I’m too busy or that it doesn’t matter if it gets left and undealt with, like I can get away with it but I’m starting to feel the impact this has on my body and how dismissive it is and arrogant not to take responsibility for all aspects of my life and not just the ones that I’m good at. Great blog to come back to again.
‘The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength. There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.’ I love this paragraph, as we can so often get caught up in the anxiousness, self doubt or otherwise when all that we have done is chosen not to commit to life, to ourselves.
Part of our natural expression is responsibility and commitment. I cannot be myself without being both of these qualities too. They walk hand in hand.
I absolutely love this blog Gyl. I’ve just been through a period in my life where I felt unsure about many things and the self doubt felt very real and absolutely debilitating, I couldn’t move forward with anything. When I began to commit to my life in full everything that was murky became clear and like you say this clarity brings joy and purpose. Commitment is not the burden I thought it was, in fact lack of commitment is what makes me feel burdened.
So true Leonne – it is our lack of commitment that weighs us down in life.
Well said Gyl, it’s the commitment to live our every breath in the truth of who we are. To feel that we are already full, it just needs to be claimed and lived.
I find it seems sometimes easier to commit to things outside of myself – as in for others or because others are saying I have to do it – than to commit to things I feel to do out of myself, things I feel need to be done and are important. This is exposing that I have a lack of self-worth I am feeding with this behaviour, but oh yes how beautiful to start making a change and commit to everything as even the smallest things are important.
Lieke, I am with you, I do exactly the same thing, it is like the list of chores that need doing for myself pile up on an undealt with list whilst I am quite able to commit to what I have been asked to do by others. It is very exposing of the lack of self worth we so often carry as women but what you are sharing is the joy in becoming aware of it and therefore our ability to change this pattern to one that truly supports.
True Gyl, our commitment goes beyond what we do, it is only the quality we are in and thus give others a true reflection, that’s what it is about!
It’s such a trap and yet we all fall in at various times ‘always thinking the next thing will be the one that changes our life.’, when in fact life is with us now and how are we with it, are we with it, as fully as we can be in any given moment, willing and open to deepening the connection with ourselves and thus life? Are we ready to turn up, fully on and willing to be there in however is needed? Are we willing to simply be us?
I am finding that it’s the simple steps of our daily living that really build our foundation for commitment like applying my makeup seated at my dressing table with presence or opening the door to my car etc. It’s these little daily processes and the depth of our presence that can truly bring change to our commitment to life and it’s a lot of fun exploring it everyday.
I used sport to avoid feeling what was going on, and each time I would stretch myself further, until I came across Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, then I realised that living from the inside out and connecting to life fully from being who I truly was first was what I was truly looking for.
I really love the examples you’ve given in your blog Gyl about super simple and practical ways we can commit more to ourselves and life. We shy away from commitment but it isn’t as scary as we make it out! Life actually becomes a lot easier when we apply ourselves in full…
Commiting to expressing how I feel when I feel it and not waiting or shoving the feeling under the bed for a while to revist or for it to build up, to everyone without exception is one of my many daily practices. As this is an area I have held back immensely with family and close ones, often I find that when I practice this with strangers it builds appreciation and familiarity, and it gets easier in situations where I find more difficult to express myself. This exposes an attachment I have with family—a need to be accepted and to be loved, which is based on need and not true love.
This exposes a lot about my own choices to be needy. This is so unfulfilling. Leaving me feeling empty and sad.
The difference I feel when I fully commit to something is huge. When I’m not committed and am feeling half-hearted about doing something, because I feel like it’s a burden, it’s me who’s making it a burden by resisting doing what needs to be done -and it takes twice as long. When I commit to doing something in full, all the energy that I need to do the thing is right there – and it just gets done. What I’m also learning is that it’s my resistance to saying what needs to be said, to doing what needs to be done, controlling every outcome, that makes me exhausted. When I allow life to flow, feel what’s needed next by going by my body instead of my mental to-do list, it takes no effort and life feels more enjoyable and expansive.
I agree. Be it saying yes to a job or relationship, or to doing the ironing, a simple yes to doing something, and the thing is practically already done. It definitely takes out the heavy burden of anxiety and doubt about whether it will be done or not, which drains us.
Gorgeous Gyl, feeling in your reading the absolute power,lightness and aliveness of what it means to be committed to yourself, to life! a gorgeous lived example of how we can live everyday, and not just a moment or a day! Gorgeous reminder of where we are all capable of!
I was living life but it was something that felt like a chore to a degree, getting up and going to work, keeping up with the household chores and some time to see family and friends. Like I was on a hamster wheel and didn’t know how to get off. Thanks to Serge Benhayon and the teachings of the Ageless Wisdom this changed, today after fully committing to life and myself I can honestly say that I have never felt so in love with where I am and what I am doing. Everything is simply and feels amazing, I don’t need any fireworks or special events to keep me going until the next.
This is a great list and offers a lot to reflect on, especially as it brings in so much responsibility.
And so much practicality.I just have to fully allow myself to be fully me.
You’ve put it so simply, yet it can still be a struggle to accept.
I love your rather exposing list of some of the things that make up what it means to be committed to life, but it is what you shared about the quality that I find the most exposing… for sometimes it is easy to seemingly appear committed to life through the length of the list of things that can be ticked off in a day but it is the quality that they are done in that truly defines what you are committed too.
Double-exposure Sam!
Commitment to life is a responsibility I have wanted out for as long as I can remember, but this responsibility in truth is actually something I know very well and life is giving me all the opportunities to reconfirm this with myself everyday.
Committing to life does involve a ever deepening intimacy and self love with ourselves.
True commitment is a divine law, one that asks us to take responsibility for seeing how much we have changed its meaning and that ultimately first and foremost our commitment is to living the love we are.
Imagine if we were to stop changing jobs and external things hoping that it would ease the tension of not fully engaging and committing to life.
It makes no sense that we would not commit to our lives, after all, this is our life we are talking about! Nobody can define its quality and the principles upon which we live except us.
I use to dread the C word – commitment. But “Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” I so agree Gyl. Inspired by Serge Benhayon – and all his family – I now have a deeper commitment to myself – and everyone.
Thank you for this blog writting, it turns the reader to look deeper into their hearts and observe the above in ones life. I was pulled, by reading this blog, to feel into my commitment to myself. The sentence that truly made sense to me, and now I can understand so is: ”On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life.”
I can now stop trying – all to see now, I know were to start.. Loving baby steps as great as I am. We all are.
When we get caught in the if only’s of life we totally dismiss what we actually already have at hand.
There is so much joy in commitment it always astounds me that I chose to avoid it for so long.
I know I can relate to that Kim, and this blog has exposed the areas in my life that I need to bring more commitment to.
Reading your blog again Gyl inspired me to appreciate the difference I am feeling now, living with more commitment to life than ever before and it feels amazing. I feel lighter, more motivated, I do things with ease instead of dread and everything flows. Also your list reminds me that there is more to deepen, to evolve and it is my willingness to commit to life that always supports me in life.
Yes so true Gyl, not committing to life is very detrimental to one’s health. I know this as I have felt it in my own body. Bad posture, inability to digest food, lack of true confidence; just about everything is out of sorts when you are not present and accountable and fully in your own body.
Not committing to life can also bring detrimental effects to your body and your health, for example exhaustion where you are properly floored all the time, drained, nausea, fatigue, aching body and kidneys, being tired all the time, upset stomach, this can also affect your mental health not to mention bring issues into other areas of your life, such as family, relationships, work etc.
I think as well we have to watch commitment is not just words, it starts with energy first, this is something I am learning. You can say you are committed all you like but if’s there’s no energy of commitment in your body you are living a lie.
The simplicity of attending to the details of ourselves first and on into our life in a loving and focused way, seems to me to naturally deepen our committment to it. The difficulties arise when we ‘try’ or when we give up on or avoid ourselves.
Commitment has to be a daily and moment by moment choice, you can’t just choose it once and assume it’s going to be there for the rest of your life. But first it most definitely has to start with self, for if we are not committed to being with and in our bodies then we are saying no to love and letting another energy run the show, of only which there is one. ” You are either with me or against me” as Yeshua said. We are in effect saying no to love, or no to God, no to ourselves, I don’t want to be responsible for being here, everything I feel and what there is to do, we see it as a burden rather than the much needed and called for life changes it brings for everyone.
Commitment to life is in me and the only thing that is needed is to connect to that love that lives in my inner most, my inner heart. By connecting to this love I also found the natural commitment to life and the fact that it does matter how I am with myself and the society I live in. There is a natural commitment to contribute what I am able to give to the best of my ability and I do now understand that when I do hold back on this I am heavily disabling myself and preparing a way for illness and disease in my body and mind.
I totally agree – when I give my all to whatever the activity I might be engaged in, even a most mundane task of all can bring much joy.
Thank you Gyl for such a fantastic blog. What I have found is that I do commit to life and everything I do in all I do and as best I can, but having a true relationship with committing to life is actually one to have a relationship with dealing with our issues, hurts and tensions. There are things I have felt to do sometimes but they are left and left and left and sure this may be because it just was not the moment then to do them, but equally it is also because these things bring up hurts or pains from past experiences I was not at that moment wanting to deal with. Committing to life is indeed far more than just ticking all the boxes and ‘making the most of life’.. it is indeed a relationship with you and the true quality you bring to all you do in life.
‘What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?’ Gyl, I have found this to be true. With inner purpose and commitment to life, constant searching outside of self ends and is replaced with a knowing that all is perfectly constellated and unfolds through choices we make moment by moment. This brings a steadiness and flow to life that is self sustaining.
Lack of commitment to self comes in many subtle ways. Not making space to attend to something that constantly reminds us of an area of life being neglected is one. I recently committed to clear out my cupboards, after months of procrastination. The process took me through decades of my life since the 60’s, I didn’t rush, connected, acknowledged and let go. Each day I learn the importance of clearing, not just material clutter but also mental. Next on my list -computer files.
I often get caught in the attitude of what it will be like when this intense thing is finished, or that… which can lead me to literally wishing my life away. But if I bring my attention to what is happening right now, to being present with me now.. then I can be in – joy, no matter what.
Hello Gyl and great blog and to me life is a never ending moment of this, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” We have a world geared the other way and has you thinking about the past and the future and everything seems to want to keep you out of the present. What if everything is always with you and never leaves you and so the past isn’t the past and the future isn’t the future, it’s all just the present. That is the fact of it we just want to view it a different way. The more you dedicate to the present the more clear things become and past or future it can all be taken care of from the present, in fact that’s the only place to take care. The time spent anywhere else is like walking around in circles when in fact we aren’t moving anywhere. Life feeling a little off or a bit off or not feeling great?, dedicate back to the present and watch everything come back together.
I’ve been putting off getting the inside of my car cleaned for some time, with – it’s not that bad, it can wait a little longer or I’m too busy, it’s expensive but the truth is whenever I get into my car I think to myself – I must get it cleaned, so before I go anywhere else this morning I’m going to get It hoovered because a clean car is what I will be welcomed back with every time I get in.
I love this Fiona, those seemingly simple things we know but tend to turn a blind eye to and backing up this lack of commitment with an array of reasoning, but the fact is that we do not support ourselves by doing that and instead cement in that lack of commitment and the not ‘being worth it’.
A beautiful reminder that commitment to conscious presence and the quality we bring in every moment is the antidote to rushing, being stressed and going into overwhelm
“…..commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing”.
‘Getting the car checked and whatever needs done’, you have reminded me that there are a couple of things with my car which need to be organised that I have been putting off for some time prioritising everything else instead but this is exhausting as whenever I get into my car I have this nagging reminder that it needs to be dealt with which is exhausting and opens the door to negative thoughts. Thank you for the reminder that commitment to life is commitment to the whole.
What I am learning is that commitment is about bringing all of me to everything I do and it begins with going to bed with all of me and making sure that I get out of bed with all of me. This means that sometimes I stop myself as I am getting up as I realise I am in my head so I reconnect to my body and get up again. For me this sets the day.
‘Going to bed when my body feels tired, not staying up “just another five minutes”.’ I have noticed how I hang onto a subtle belief that going to bed when I’m tired is somehow wrong. By most people’s standards you would describe my bedtime as early but there are times when I’m more tired than others and it feels like I don’t honour this because of a belief that I can’t get into my PJ’s before a certain time.
There is an absolute joy in committing to life, which begs the question why do we so often avoid this commitment and choose to indulge in comfort?
I am re-reading this blog today as I can see a new level of this coming up in my life “The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength.” I couldn’t figure out a way forward and just stopped, took myself for a walk and found that by not being attached yet also not walking away, there was a simple next step which I took, fully and without reservation. Amazing difference in the body – the marker of all truth.
This is a beautiful reflection of the quality of commitment that is possible when we commit to life in full and bring conscious presence to all that we are.
Inspiring how you share about the joy of commitment to life and self whereas previously I would have prided myself on my level of commitment but always with a sense of it being a burden rather than a joy. The way you express it feels so much lighter but also very real and accessible. Thank you.
It is so true Gyl that the incessant chase of the ‘next thing’ is what will bring us what we are desperately and ceaselessly seeking, never delivers or can compare to the immeasurable quality of love that is found within, through our connection to our Soul, to ourselves. When we commit to living with this quality of connection through our daily lives, we bring the fullness of who we are to all we do, and with this we are moved by the joy of love with our every breath.
A timely read- thank you for sharing Gyl, this is something that has come up for me recently and I can feel I need to go much deeper in looking at this for myself.
True commitment to life is learning to appreciate and live all the love that we already are.
This is the second blog I have read on commitment to day, and perhaps what I am feeling is to look at the quality that I am in during the day and how this changes throughout the day. ‘Commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing’, this line makes so much sense and is something I am going to observe closely today.
This is so beautiful Gyl, and truly revolutionary – when so often we can feel the exhaustion and think that we can’t possibly commit to things because we have no energy, this shows it may be possible to turn everything on its head – that we have no energy because we have lost all commitment. So while honouring where the body has got to and what it needs to heal, we can start reconnecting to the truth of our essence – and to live in commitment to that connection we can re-engage in life in a true way and may find out we have all the energy we could ever need.
Yes Annie, how many people wake up exhausted before they even start their day, I was one of those people, I never had enough energy and was constantly tired, simply because I had huge lack of commitment issues. How did I turn this around? Baby steps of self-care and putting me first in my life and now I love giving to myself because I am worth it. And now so much has changed in my life.
Hi Gyl, great blog and very exposing as I have been one that there is always another moment, thing, goal or something to setup or reach before my life will start. Your comment – ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full,..’ – is simply beautiful and simply the way it is, nothing big or huge but committing all of me to the moment I am in is all that is required. Thank you.
Amazing blog Gyl. I loved being reminded that commitment is not about one big thing but rather all the little things that on reflection are not so little after all. When I allow myself to feel that commitment is a quality of presence the need to ‘do’ drops away and it is easier to connect to purpose.
Hello Gyl and I agree and this certainly gives us all the angles for commitment, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” We so often are taught that commitment looks like something else which is more of a tick box style mentality on a few keys things where what you are saying is simple and covers everything. If anything is dividing life up and making one part more important or significant than another it’s usually going to lead us down a road that at some point we will return to. See life all together and just having many different points of the same thing that just need the above quote applied to them. No matter what the heading or title simply commit.
I feel the fleeting thoughts or wavering thoughts are because something was felt and registered but not acted on. If I find myself in self-doubt I wind the clock back a bit and honour what was felt. It is like the world is not yours anymore and you become less in the flow of the absoluteness of what is next.
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ When I am fully committed to being with me and what I am doing through my day space opens up when I’m distracted and focusing on how little time I have I feel like I am constantly chasing my tail.
Reading this Gyl has made me more aware of what has been happening for me. I have had thoughts recently to maybe sell my house and perhaps rent. I just did some practical things like looking at my bank accounts, whats out there, what I have actually got and realising that I have an enormous amount to appreciate about what I have got, where I currently am and it far outweighs the ‘thoughts’ of elsewhere. I can feel that just having those unsettling thoughts destabilized my committment to what is an already solid foundation and now I can let them go.
What’s amazing about committing to doing something is how unexpectedly energising it is: totally contrary to the reason we put off doing it in the first place, which is usually because we think we don’t have the energy for it. Love your practical and relatable examples Gyl.
Commitment feels like saying ‘Yes’ in full to a job, relationship, myself, preparing a meal, gardening, whatever it may be and then bringing all of me to what is being asked of me eg. I would like a job but I am dithering as to what type of job I want that would suit me and work with my family. I am delaying the ‘Yes’, my commitment to getting myself a job and even though I know a job would greatly support me in more ways than one I find myself avoiding this responsibility and blaming others.
‘I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around’. What a great line exposes the self sabotage we can perpetually be in. There is a truth we feel within, yet we avoid, and are unwilling to take the steps to honor the truth we feel.
“Getting the car checked, and whatever needs done.” How often do we put things off that essentially need to be done and over time do not get done. This is a great example of feeling the difference between commitment and not – doing what needs to be done with a balance throughout day. I know financially people cannot afford it and not in the position however, it highlights in truth if more commitment is applied you can make it happen.
Great commitment list. We need see more of it (commitment) to support each other.
What is it that we need to be committed to if we are going to make the commitment? If given the right space to commit it is all there i.e.. what it is there is to do. You soon find out what is true and what is not rapidly and can let go of it quickly too. I am learning that any ideal can own you at any-time and it is a choice that you have chosen to let it own you that is why I like the idea of not holding back and to keep bringing it and “not holding back any part of me.” I find what goes on around me dissolve while the firmness is kept.
You have no control how another will deal with it and whether they come back or not .. the fact is they will eventually. The point is to not hold back after you hold back. It maybe semantics here but it does work – it is always your choice never another’s to commit in full to you — 80% of the time it will be in your favour if not more.
I love the simplicity of commitment: how it’s not some great, big, scary thing, but the choice to pay attention to all the details and treating everything equally, big or small – bringing ourselves and our attention to everything that we do, with care and focus.
A beautiful sharing Gyl. If I could stay present in each moment, how different my life would be. It is so hard I find to do this but I continue to recognise the need for me to bring myself back to this moment, as this is truly all there is!
“In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.” This is so familiar to me too, I have been caught in this way too. I was fighting with connection as with connection I know there comes a bigger level of responsibility. But in truth this is what I truly wanted to connect too.Its crazy how we can get spun.
We can make commitment such a big thing, but it’s the simple things and no matter what it is we commit to, it’s about the quality of how we are, with us in each moment in whatever we are doing.
So true Gyl. True commitment is a commitment to be fully present and accounted for in your own body with everything movement. Basically we need to be there and not off somewhere in our head.
Commitment is not to a single thing, a job, a person. It is a commitment to all aspects of life… to being present and with ourselves no matter whether its in that conversation, with that important meeting, to brushing out teeth or taking the garbage out. A commitment to being fully present and with ourselves in all that we do.
Another great blog- I can feel times when I put things off and they become a drag as opposed to times when I bring my fullness to something (could be the same task) and it feels totally different, there is a joy to it, a lightness and a sense of completion.
What I realise reading this blog is how arrogant I still am thinking I can get away with eating food I know don’t truly support my body and my ability to be consciously present this is just one example of not taking responsibility for my choices and the consequences of my irresponsibility.
Thank you Gyl for deepening my understanding about commitment and how its really about the level of presence we do everything in that makes it committed. This is something I can now go much deeper in.
Very practical ways to pay attention to not just what we are doing but how we are doing them. I always have to watch that one.
It is amazing how simple life becomes when I commit in full to it. I now can see that I was reacting to what life showed me to be and from that have chosen to not fully participate in it. What I did not realise at that time but now can see clearly was that this reaction also affected my vitality and health and not at least my joy. Living my life in full and committed to everything that comes to me has brought me such a joyful, more healthy and vital life I cannot remember having had in my adult life before.
Thank you, Gyl. Your sharing has reminded me that life is just showing me what I have been choosing to say yes to, and I can feel how I was going the other way around by wanting to fulfill an image of certain value and comfort. And commitment to life is not about working hard toward that perceived goal point but it is about steadily building my connection to the energy that I wish to bring into the world that I am a part of without an attachment to the outcome.
‘Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things’ – the littler the thing the greater the love we hold ourselves in. A beautiful reminder.
With commitment to self everything naturally unfolds. This is what I bring myself back to when I feel myself slip into the not knowing what my next step is. I do know and lovingly committing to myself and life supports me to find the answers that lie within.
commitment isn’t a dread when we choose to commit to life, as we are meant to live in full, living in parts doesn’t bring the joy we can feel when we are connectedness
So commitment to myself means being present with me in every moment. I am finding the unpleasantness of not being with myself too much to bear and I wonder how I could have ignored this for so long? This new commitment to myself feels better and lighter than any other way I have lived.
“Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” I agree Gyl, every little thing done with the quality of presence is a loving confirmation.
Commitment has been a buzzword in my face for a while now, Thank you Gyl for bringing it back home to the basics. It’s not just about doing things for my body but how I do them. An example I can share recently is that I am making more of an effort to take my socks off at the end of the day rather than pulling them off harshly. It’s small but it’s a commitment to quality I haven’t had prior to bringing my focus to this part of my day.
I love this Leigh and the simplicity of taking your socks off . We make commitment into such a huge thing, almost a dirty word, when it truth it is something very very light, it can bring so much power, presence, joy, and playfulness.
Being present is vital for true commitment. When I read your list Gyl, I realised how awesome it is to be deeply committed to oneself. There is so much room to go deeper. There is no point where we can say we have made it and we can stop. The lovely thing is the deeper we go the more rewarding it is.
The quality that we do things in and making choices to be present with what we’re doing is a bit of a game changer. In my experience it generally leads to being more productive and a higher quality end product, but also so much more enjoyment of whatever the task is that I’m doing. Committing to doing something because I’m enjoying being with me and not because I either feel like I have to or because I’m looking for reward, recognition or validation is a completely different experience. It’s complete at the end, there’s a fullness to it and I feel vital and not drained by it.
I’d not considered before reading this that expressing in full and not holding back is a form of commitment. A commitment to expressing what we can feel and to being our true selves. When we say what is there to be said by being real and honest with ourselves, and actually feeling what to say, it feels different in the body: expanded, lighter, clear. Totally different to when we hold it in which just feeds the contraction and hardness, and keeps us separated from others.
We get so preoccupied and waste much time and effort wanting and waiting for the what if’s, should and coulds and for something or someone to make our life ‘better’, that we neglect to appreciate what we already have.
Thank you Gyl for sharing that responsibility is not big or scary or a burden or hard work, it’s just about applying ourselves to the moment in a quality that says ‘I am here with you right now’.
The Quality of the life we lead is the missing ingredient so many are searching for. It is why we can “go through the motions” in our lives, doing the exact same things that another does that brings them joy, and end up feeling miserable. Or we can do the simplest things with our fullness and feel the joy in simply being, which can bring tears to our eyes.
Thank you Gyl – you share so much gold here.
I appreciate being reminded that I have the opportunity to commit to myself and life in each and every moment.
Hugely important subject , as without – we are lost. As we can see. A true commitment, as shown above, is the absolute importance of connection. Connection to our inner-self , unity and God. It is through connection of one’s heart that finds the goal that is heaven. As without , will be without, and so a true amiss. So thank you for Serge Benhayon for waking up the true fact that what we need is connection. Nothing else.
“I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague..” yes know this too well, as my mantra was; ‘ I don’t want to be here’! What I was actually saying was I don’t want to take responsibility for my choices and where I find myself in life….. which only ever made my life full of struggle and complication with no true connection with others. Once I began to take responsibility for me, my life began to change as I made new self-loving choices which have refined throughout the past 5 years. Today I can feel my deeper commitment to myself to heal my stuff in this lifetime which greatly supports me in healing my lack of commitment to life – there is indeed much for me to appreciate for all the steps I have taken and for the courage to face myself.
I agree Gyl and beautifully said, “commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” It is our quality of being that truly communicates.
Thank you Gyl – I can feel that presence and commitment go hand in hand and I am very grateful for the reminder.
Thank you Gyl I really loved your article, commitment and responsibility were very heavy words for me, something that had to be done, something that was expected of you. Duty never equated with any joy. Thank you for putting it so simply and yes, joyful. ” When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.”
Gyl I really love what you have wrote about true commitment: “. . . commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” This knowing is an invitation to change our behavior from being not present to being fully present in every moment and being responsible for what ever I do.
When we make it about quality, all the rest is taken care of and it doesn’t matter what the task – from taking out the rubbish to running a business meeting, when we are with ourselves, meaning, when we are present in the choice to be with our movements then we are a true vessel for the divine. So really, is true commitment a commitment to God and the divine work we are all part of delivering on earth?
I love how this blog unfolds – from committing to not committing to life, to then committing in the ‘doing’ aspect of life, to then committing to choosing a quality of energy. We can tick all the boxes of ‘doing’ life really well and it may look the part on the outside, but the quality is what determines how full we feel within.
Committed to life, being totally present and with ourselves, brings such beauty, clarity and presence to each moment and leaves no room for stress about past or future.
“The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread” This is so true. I sometimes feel it creeping back in, blaming my day or my situation and then I just stop and take a look at if I am committing in full to life and I find I have lost focus. When I can bring that back there is not an ounce of heaviness or dread.
The grass us always green on the other side of the fence. I had found that when I had stopped searching for whatever, what came to me was more than what I had coveted. I love your list of the big and small responsibility’s we try to avoid and just plant the seeds of doubt. Fully committing to life is a joyful way to stay off the merry-go-round of life.
So well said Gyl, thank you. You have taken this subject of commitment and exposed all its angles and perceptions. What you have shared is gold. Such wisdom, learning and depth of clarity in how to be more committed through the quality and presence we are in when in the doing.
It is a great healing to let go of the pictures we hold about commitment as being something to dread and avoid in life as it opens us to the simplicity of each moment and the connection to our own bodies to move in a way that expresses our unique qualities and that is true commitment!
Commitment in the actions is a great start and I can relate to a lot of what you’ve shared here. Those actions do make a difference and when the quality is brought into the equation it does take it to another level. When we commit with quality it feels more grounded in the body when compared to the outer action being the sole focus.
Is Joy coming at the end of this blog? Maybe tomorrow when I go to work? What if it is arriving via special delivery in a van next Thursday direct to me? But what if, as you say Gyl Joy will never be there this way, and seeking it is just a big game to distract from the simple fact it actually lives right here in this moment. Right here in our ability to be present. So we all have this choice to know our natural Joy constantly – or not.
I woke up early this morning with thoughts running through my mind and try as I would to bring myself back, to the present moment it was difficult. I got up and opened your blog on commitment which was a theme of my thoughts this morning, but hadn’t recognised it as such until now. When we truly commit, we can override self-doubt, which comes into either de-rail a plan, project or expectation or cap us. Committing to life it is never just for ourselves, but everyone.
Beautifully expressed Gyl, having avoided commitment most of my life I can totally agree with all you share. Since attending Universal Medicine presentations I learnt to commit more fully to my life and the changes in my life and in my relationships have been amazing. It seems the more I commit to my life there’s more joy, energy and spaciousness that comes with this choice.
This is a great sharing and wonderful reminder to re read thank you Gyl! I know I haven’t fully committed to areas in my life and things get wishy washy and there seems to be the air of freedom someone mentioned but this feels like everything is put on hold in case something better comes along. I have also found some people don’t wish to commit to an invitation and I also find that unsettling, especially if they originally accepted the invitation, but then want to leave it open ended in case something else comes along!
In the moment when I truly, deeply reconnect to myself it is absolutely Divine – literally. There are no words to describe the pure love, all knowing, absolute glory, joy and stillness that we all are at essence and carry within. Having experienced that makes it even more crazy when I see myself over eat, react or do anything to avoid my connection. Why on earth (or any other planet) would we not want to be and live who we truly are at essence?
And of course one the greatest most joyful things about being truly connected is that in that connection I am connected to everyone else – as we are all of the same essence / source. Of course at first it can be a bit intense to witness Divine beings (including ourselves) in disconnection from themselves behaving and moving dis-gracefully instead of gracefully as is our true way – but we see through this and know that the abusive expressions are not who we are but what we allow through us when we are in separation and disconnection to who we truly are.
Commitment to live is actually very simple and that difficult or serious thing we have made of it. For me it is the commitment to my way of being and how I conduct my body in that. To dedicate my life to live my body in its natural state of being to the best I can brings such a joy, a joy I have not lived before in my life and is also very simple to do.
‘commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in’. Such a great line, that takes our understanding of commitment beyond any ‘doing’, any activity and brings it right back to just how committed we are to how we are running ourselves, how we are being in what we are doing. That to me is true responsibility.
‘commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.’ Being present is a present, it is a gift to our body and makes life much more enjoyable and fun.
It’s lovely feeling the commitment to life as being present in each moment. This is no chore but a gift to live this way.
Entering in to a committed relationship with yourself can start with the simple things, like how you brush your teeth or put yourself to bed. These are little details in the day that can confirm who you are and how very lovely you are.
It is so easy to have doubt or self doubt when we are not connected with ourselves and thus with God. Commitment is accepting and allowing myself to feel I am part of the whole, and to live this grandness and bring this in every movement.
I agree. We may like to think life consists of many different segments, but in truth it is a one big eternal flow. Far simpler if we just commit to building the consistency in the way we are, then whatever we do will naturally reflect that.
Thank you Gyl, I really loved what you have shared, I find commitment challenging at times, mostly when I am not present with what I am doing. When I am there in presence every task can become joyful, no matter what it is that I am doing.
Commitment ” is about everything in life” equally – from doing the dishes, washing the car, driving to work, teaching the kids or whatever profession you have chosen, how we speak with everyone, changing the toilet roll, to paying the bills – nothing more, nothing less – all equal. And making sure to the best of your ability it’s the whole of you doing it, in full – you’re not off somewhere else.
We have made priorities in our lives, one part being more important than the other but like you say Gyl it is about having the focus, bringing all of us to everything equally. We have been raised in the opposite way making school, work or other things very important, to perform instead of to be who we are in all that we do.
What do Penguin show us about committing to life in full – listen to this to find out – http://www.unimedliving.com/voice/audio-of-the-month/the-ultimate-commitment-to-life.html
“this lack of commitment to self, impacted my ability to fully commit to life” – this is massive – if we don’t want to be with ourselves how can we ever want to be or fully commit to life. This is a great thing to admit to, as then you can get to the route of why you feel this way in the first place, what is it that you don’t want to feel, like about yourself, rather that check out and start mental health issues.
Thank you, Gyl, I found your words inspiring. Commitment to self can sometimes feel like an ‘effort’, but I can feel from you words, the joy it brings. Creating a rhythm of self care, a foundation platform from which we can go out into the world and serve others.
Committing in full to our connection to self is commitment to all Humanity as it can be felt by others but more than that – we are all connected and I am a reflection of everything that is possible. This is the energetic responsibility I hold in my everyday Livingness. Thank you Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine for holding this commitment which, in turn supports me to make the same.
So true Brendan, I was only talking with a friend today how my commitment at work is not as steady as my commitment at home and other areas, a realization for me that we cant separate one area of our lives from another, we have to bring our all to it all.
Thanks Gyl, what a great reminder for us to be present with ourselves in all that we do, this for me is what true commitment is all about. The more we connect and are more loving with ourselves, the deeper the commitment grows
This is such a great reminder Mariette. Thank you!
I loved reading this blog Gyl and the beautiful wisdom you have shared here on commitment to self and life. Since attending Universal Medicine presentations my commitment to life has greatly improved, after reading your blog I was pondering on the pockets of my life where I am still holding back on being 100% committed and why I choose to do this, time to shift this as I can feel this drains my energy and creates unnecessary complications.
I feel it’s a lack of self worth which stops us from committing to life in full, for if we valued and loved ourselves completely and so deeply why would we not commit to all of areas of life in full.
we’d be out there dancing from the rooftops, sharing it with the world in full, why would we want to hide divine glory away?
That is gorgeous gyllianrae! You are so correct. We would never put ourselves in this situation in the first place if we had the love and regard for our wellbeing. It was a great healing for me to come to this realisation which resides so solidly within me now. I can feel the levels of commitment and how this is ever deepening the more I commit to myself and to evolution.
I loved reading this blog Gyl and the beautiful wisdom you have shared here on our commitment to self and life. Since attending Universal Medicine presentations my commitment to life has greatly expanded, after reading your blog I was pondering on the pockets of my life where there is still a holding back on my 100% commitment and why I choose to do this, time to shift this as I can feel this drains my energy and creates unnecessary complications.
I totally relate to searching and looking for something, not really knowing what it was I was looking for, until I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, where I realised that what I was searching for was myself. In committing to life in full, and taking responsibility for lovingly looking after myself, I have a quality in everything I do.
I have been thinking about this, that we can come up with as many stories and excuses as we like for not committing to life in full, or anything for that matter – but deep down we all know it simply comes down to the choice of energy we chose first. Either prana (spirit) or fire (soul) – then everything else is a given. If we choose fire, we choose simplicity, and with that there would be a full commitment to life, it wouldn’t even cross our minds otherwise – choose prana and with it comes a multitude of excuses, complications, stories and dilemmas. It really is that simple, choose the energy – then everything else after that is simply an outplay of the choice of energy we knowingly chose in the first place. There’s a great audio here on the difference between spirit and soul – http://www.unimedliving.com/unimedpedia/word-index/unimedpedia-spirit.html
Thank you Gyl for the reminder of great responsibility we have. There are times I can let my hurts cloud what is truly there for me to embrace. I particularly resonated with : “But the fact is, none of them worked. I thought they did for a while, but all they did was distract me with moments of excitement, happiness, sadness, recognition, acceptance, complication, numbness or obsession, all to avoid feeling what was really going on.”
I realise that these things come in to distract me from feeling my power, my joy and my amazingness. If we don’t deal with our hurts so much gets in the way of who we really are and creates divisiveness between us all. We need to be able to see this for what it is (a distraction) and embrace what is truly there for us to BE. It s not just a joyful way to be, it is our responsibility.
Am I fully committed to life? I felt tempted to bring forward an image of what that would look like but realised quite quickly that the world outside of me already had one there ready to go and that it would have been full of all the things you mentioned Gyl, that distract us from truth. Surrendering, accepting and appreciating every moment is now my way and requires an absolute dedication and willingness. The attention brought here to all of us about the presence and quality of us in each moment is ‘Gold’ – thank you Gyl for sharing
There are still moments where I do feel sadness and I often eat when I don’t want to feel, or I have let something affect me – so for me this is where commitment also lies, in making a commitment to make a different choice next time I go to do this. But also knowing that I have a responsibility, in the sense I may see someone in my family ( or anyone in the world for that matter) overeat or eat at times to not feel things, but by me doing exactly the same I am confirming to them this is okay, whether they see me or not, as all is energy and can be felt. Also the same with the choice of energy and thoughts that lead to the eating in the first place.
If I give up on commitment to myself I find it hard to commit to anything else in life – in the simple little things like not honouring how I feel, or making sure everyone else is okay before myself, may sound crazy to some, but I end up exhausted then lack vitality and joy and resent everything else that needs to be done. There’s an awesome book I recently read that reminded me of this, how our No.1 Job (http://www.sunlightink.com) is to love ourselves then all our other jobs become much easier and way more joyful to do. I know this from life too – when I do take responsibility and make a commitment to love myself, then I am naturally this way with every job and everyone else too.
what I would ask was there a commitment to yourself there too? I am learning everything in life starts with a commitment to myself – if I give up on me, the who is running the show and what energy am I allowing in? (there is only two, love or not love) by not making this commitment to choose love in all I do – and why do I not want to feel the things I do? This then affects every action, word, thought, choice I make – until I choose to make the commitment to myself again. This is not selfish as some may think it to be, far from it, for everything we do affects everybody. So if I am choosing to not commit to the choosing the energy I want to be – then what is everybody getting and what quality is everybody feeling from every interaction we have – the same if I am choosing to commit and take responsibility and to the best of my ability, as I am not perfect, to knowingly choose love in very moment.
Thank you Gyl, for breaking down the ideals that commitment is such a huge thing. I have been struggling a bit with commitment, but in truth have gone into the mind to make it such a big thing – which I then think I can’t achieve and/or avoid…and in fact miss appreciating all the aspects of life that I do commit to – what a trick! “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full” – this is gold.
Hi Brendan, I agree there are more areas of my life that I am committed to than others, and this is something I am working on, often I forget about commitment to myself first. I am learning with deep thanks to Serge Benhayon and his family that it’s not to see life as separate parts, to not compartmentalise life, as we so often do, such as work, exercise, food shopping, home life and have a different level of commitment and how I am in each of these – but bring all of me and full commitment to everything equally. Otherwise, in my experience we can end up resenting stuff.
“by not allowing myself the time and space to stop” for me this is the key – something I have not mastered yet. It is amazing as I can think I am somewhere I’m not – but the moment, and literally the moment, I ‘allow’ myself to stop – I feel connected to God and the fact there is nothing wrong. This just exposes the truth that there is a part of us inside, our Spirit, which loves to be in motion to keep us from the innate stillness within us all, and with God. For in stillness we can’t help but know God.
Each of us has a vital part to play in the whole. As you say Gyl – “Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” – so why do we avoid it?
I have read this blog a few times and find it helpful. There are a few examples on your list Gyl that stand out for me. I have felt how amazing it is to bring my full commitment to an interaction or to being with me, even writing a comment and it does feel amazing. I was reminded recently that it is our responsibility to deal with the things that may hold us back from committing – the thoughts, the beliefs, behaviour etc
Hi Annie, yes behaviours can be a big one for me, when I talk about behaviours it makes me think of kids at school, and the way be behaviours can get labelled there. But this is not what I mean, behaviour can simply be repeating the same choice such as eating a food you know doesn’t after with you, or leaving late for work – anything that doesn’t support you to grow and evolve.
One thing is for sure if we dont commit to ourselves nobody else will
It is the commitment to each moment, our quality of presence that can really make mundane things enjoyable. Commitment sounds like a struggle but the struggle is a sign that the commitment is lacking.
I love this blog and it is a pleasure to re-read. The list of examples of things to commit to in life is awesome and shows how much we may not but could commit further to life in every choice we make.
There is something about commitment that gets me. I have this way of tricking myself into thinking I am not committed to myself or life by being lazy – however, after reading the long list of everyday commitments and responsibilities I felt an enormous appreciation for myself in that I do most of things for myself. I guess what I am feeling is a tension of lag of where I could be bringing more presence and stilling quality in HOW I do what is needed. Feels great to reflect on this now Gyl, a timely read indeed.
That’s a great point Rachael, reading the list as presented by Gyl does give us the opportunity to stop and appreciate, but at the same time knowing that there is always more.
Commitment is to live now what is needed to be lived – not postpone and with that, delay it.
I found that when I commit in full (to something like work as example) – I learn that I can trust in me and from here I learn to trust others as well. In fact it is not really trust I feel but love. No trust needed then. To commit in full is expressing the love that I am.
Commitment is part of responsibility and when we don’t want to take responsibility we lack commitment to ourselves. This article contains some great points where we can take responsibility for those commitments and as we become more committed our Livingness becomes more joyfull.
What you say is key Sally. Something happened to me yesterday that brought up a lot of hurt and in reading this blog and your comment I can clearly see the direct relationship that is there, where I gave up in taking responsibility for myself and my commitment dropped, which then allowed all this rubbish to come through and distract me from what is really important here. These blogs are such a support to humanity. Thank you for sharing.
Absolutely Brendan, it seems to me without it I am left lost in the ‘what ifs’ and ‘if only’s’.
It’s in not committing, or in skirting our responsibilities that life starts to weigh down heavier and heavier, I absolutely agree Gyl, the lightness that comes from taking the opportunity in each moment to approach it in full presence sets up for the next to be met in the quality of care previously taken, to then be deepened upon again and again.
Thank you Gyl for your sharing. This blog is so clear and concise , that I feel I know what is meant by real commitment. To be fully present with who ever, and whatever I am with in that moment, therefor there is no room for emptiness. I agree that the” quality and presence” that we do things in is a huge and important step also that you have revealed. We have a great example in Serge Benhayon.
I fought commitment for years, or so I thought but actually I was committed, but to things and ways of being that did not support me. Now I’m learning what true commitment is, that it’s about honouring what I feel in my body and living that; and that can take many practical forms in how I can support myself so I can be there with me, with a level of quality such that each and every person gets the joy I am.
In reading your comment I can feel the stubbornness that wants to creep in, to be ‘right’ rather that to be honest and true when I first feel that KNOWING and TRUTH within my body of what is going on. But thank God the awareness is so solid that the spirit has nowhere to go but to render naught! Only then can I truly feel all the disharmony dissipate, and as I choose more truth and honour THAT, I expand and find my way back. I am beginning to really appreciate the power of awareness.
Aaah that stubborness that wants to know each step, each permutation, that wants above all to be right, and deeply avoids that exposing question ‘is it true?’. Our bodies know and above all else our bodies show us the truth, no matter how far we try and go with right, and the more we honour our bodies, the more we become aware of that truth. So thank God for our bodies, for this instrument that never stops speaking to us no matter where we go, that’s always there to show us the truth of who we are.
Beautifully said Monica, our body never stops speaking to us while the spirit tries its tricks.
Doing the washing up comes up for me Brendan when you say this!, I realise I love cooking, I love eating but I often feel begrudged to do the washing up. Great reminder to bring the same amount of love and joy into everything we do – thank you Brendan.
Love this Gyl, this is an awesome account of what it means to be committed to life. Like you Gyl I would run for the hills with any type of commitment but now through listening to the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine this has completely turned around and I now feel deeply committed to life and to myself. Being committed has changed enormously the way I see things and the way I interact with people. True commitment to life = true evolution. Thank you for sharing Gyl.
When I deeply commit to a relationship, I will deal and work us through problems or issues which may appear. I will not leave the relationship (in fact I can not really leave it but just postpone the clearing/healing/growing to a later date). When I stay and we will grow on that, deepen the relationship and live more connection – that is development.
So I agree totally Samantha: “True commitment to life = true evolution.”
Feels like a hard truth to swallow Brendan but one I feel deeply.
Going to bed when my body feels tired, not staying up “just another five minutes”. This is one that I know throws me out for the rest of the next day, and shows me how committed I am to myself and love. It’s like all these great examples of commitment, we all have a hole somewhere and if we leave one open and stay not committed to closing the hole the ill will always find a way in.
Gyl this is a beautiful unveiling of the extra step that true commitment is, it is the quality on which we live our commitments out. As you say one may be committed to walking everyday, but if it is not with thy self then whom are you walking with? And where is the commitment to love if the inner self is not involved in all you do.
A deeply stilling question you pose Kimweston2 – on further pondering, we can move through life in function, ticking the boxes and dedicating ourselves to stress and distraction in the name of satisfaction or recognition. But, when we truly commit to our inner-most self and the love we hold then bring this to all we do, there is deep and profound purpose at play with much Joy to be shared.
Absolutely Rachael, a purpose that we are all called to live and with that comes much joy.
“stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.” These words stand out for me. Commitment is my responsibility to be love.
Being committed to love is the best life insurance.
Love it felixschumacher8, “being committed to love is the best life insurance” – true.
True commitment can only start with me. A seemingly simple lesson and yet one of the most profound and far-reaching ones that I have ever learned.
So true Michael, it astounds me how much we will resist responsibility when it is a major key in the return to love.
Thank you Gyl your blog is a good reminder to check if we are right now committed to life as you so beautiful shared: “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.”
I used to see ‘commitment’ as a heavy word, but as I work on bringing commitment more consistently to my everyday, I can feel the joy of it and it actually does not feel heavy… But if I do things in the energy of wanting to tick a box, not fully committed then it feels burdensome and boring.
Gyl this takes commitment to a new level in defining commitment as being completely there, in that moment, with quality and presence, not thinking about anything outside of that moment….. and committed not just to what you are doing, but to you, who you are with and to all of life. Beautiful inspiration.
Absolutely stunning Gyl and so spot on with all those ‘thing’ that we need to do but actually those ‘things’ become a way of showing us how committed, present and ‘in’ life we are choosing to be. The letters that pile up, the walk that gets put off for day, the dishes that lay in the sink .. all those things that show us something is happening and something is not right within ourselves.
Great to read this today and realise how much more I could be committing to life. Thank you Gyl.
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ You absolutely nailed commitment and combined with your livingness your blog is of great support. While reading it I stopped to go to the toilet and called my doctor and it reminded me of a million other things I keep postponing.
I love reading through your list of ideas, each time I do it sparks a reminder for me.
This morning it was; “Saying yes when I mean yes and no when I mean no”. Saying yes or no with clarity and purpose not ambivalence and apology is the key for me!
Thank you Gyl
yes agreed Shirl, a very powerful comment when claimed. I often will say “No”, and at the same time be second guessing myself, “should I have said yes?? Am I being to hard on them?” doubt creeps in and my ‘No’ is very weak and that is felt so the person then pursues and wears me down. I really need to practice and get better at this! Thanks for the reminder.
So many great points to offer an idea of how commitment can be brought to everyday life. All of these make total sense and yet, it is easy to bypass them, such as creating the space to prepare and eat food in a loving and nurturing way. When I do this I feel so great for the rest of the day.
“….commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” This is so true Gyl, for me its also very much about my intention and if I am truly willing to surrender to, and in so doing, openly welcome and feel, what ever each moment reveals.
Commitment is sometimes a word that we don’t like to hear or think about, because we already feel exhausted and don’t want to have another thing on our list. But the truth is, commitment is the very thing that fills our batteries with the fuel of joy.
True. The word commitment seems to have a heavy meaning. After reading this blog it shows commitment is far from that. It is a deep care for self, a yes to life, a being present with all, ourselves and all around us. It is that connection we just need to say yes to.
” But the truth is, commitment is the very thing that fills our batteries with the fuel of joy” Wow I love this Felix this is so very true and something that I have been feeling strongly lately.
Yes Felix, it’s the baseline of everything without which we will eventually run on empty.
I just love this blog and everyone’s comments. Commitment is a big subject for me as I have often found it challenging and I have been a bit scatty with it. What I am feeling now is it’s about not short-changing myself or life, appreciating and giving it all it deserves, and appreciating time for what it truly is.
When our energy is not consumed by wavering thoughts about the future, the past, we will realize what an amazing power we have in each and every moment.
„… just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.“ You have nailed it to the point Gyl and this simplicity and joy are beyond what words could described.
‘Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.’ When I commit to myself, the next step reveals itself and it is amazing how much stress is released. Love this blog Gyl!
This is a clear explanation of what true commitment is from the smallest thing up. Great check list to help us look at and consider if we commit to many areas of life. Thank you.
I keep coming back to this Blog and every time and it has helped me to I get a deeper understanding in my body of what it means to commit to life, thank you Gyl.
I too was searching outside to become happy – even when it was the thrill of being extremely desperate or emotional, I chose it, to not feel the emptyness inside of not choosing me. To find the true source of deep joy in the connection with myself and developing it further on the basis of a daily commitment to life has let the searching come to an end. Your blog is like a whole teaching and your commitment is palpable through every word. Thank you Gyl for this sharing and the deep inspiration it brings.
This is such a beautiful blog and so clearly shows that commitment to oneself starts in paying attention to the small and necessary details of life. By paying full attention to them one grows into the fullness of truly being oneself and there’s nothing better than that.
I have always had this idea of wanting to be free, and freedom was not committing to anything, and yet the opposite is true there is a spaciousness and freedom when I commit to things and relationships. When I don’t commit there is a constant tension and anxiety in my body, its like I’m split in two parts, always looking outside of myself, thinking that the other choice or relationship would be better than the one I’m choosing.
That is a great revelation Thomas. I too know this concept of freedom meaning not having to commit and a lot of people I know think like this. It is a strong belief and it is a great topic to start a discussion on and realize what a lie that is.
This is a great illusion that I once lived under as well Thomas, and a lot still do. Until we feel the true freedom of commitment we are forever searching for it outside ourselves. Such is the ill of not being committed to love.
Yes Thomas, I too had that belief that freedom was having no commitment, and just wandering around and not taking any responsability for myself.
Thank you Gyl for your list of small actions of what commitment to life means for you, it’s very practical and really helpful as I am unraveling in my own life what committing to life means.
Having spent a life time not committing to life and constantly searching for happiness from the outside, traveling all over the world to be with ‘my guru’, it is a blessing beyond words to start to commit to myself and building a connection to my body and self-care and love, and the practical temporal areas of my life. I have done this with the unwavering support of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
Committing to everything that life can offer us, every opportunity life presents and every moment that is before us. As I am learning, everything has a purpose and a reason, even down to the smallest details in our life, so everything has something to reflect back and teach us.
It all has a purpose and a reason. Even the smallest details in our life has something to reflect back and teach us… A beautiful truth presented, thank you Joshua.
Beautifully put Joshua, when we live with this level of commitment there comes through as a reflection the understanding of why things happen.
A great reminder that true commitment involves being responsible for the ‘quality and presence’ with which we do the small everyday activities.
For reasons very clear to me Gyl I keep coming back to your blog.
Clear to me because I have many lessons to learn in regards to commitment to self, thus commitment to life.
Your blog is a gentle reminder to be tender and loving with myself as I expand and evolve commitment to self.
How easy is to lose perspective of the fact that we are here as part of a cycle of evolution that offers us daily opportunities to deepen our quality as beings first and foremost and to get caught into life and make the trees our focus forgetting about the forest. It is way too easy. What is important turns to be less important of what truly is and what at the end of the day is irrelevant turns to be of utmost importance. Re-focussing on what truly matters and re-committing to ourselves is not easy as it forces us to stop accepting self-created excuses and situations as alibi for our not choosing to evolve.
Rereading your blog Gyl is such a beautiful reminder to bring quality and presence to everything I do and to where ever I am.
Your comment here is very pertinent;
“commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.”
I really love “Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” I am committed in so many areas of life, but there are still things in my day to day life that I put off. They don’t make me feel good about myself when I do put them off, but there is an ingrained pattern that calls me back to that behaviour. I am more aware of this and know its a choice, that I am focusing on more and more, but your blog has been a great refocus and to bring even more awareness to what I am doing, so thank you.
Yes Raegancairney, the call back is strong isn’t it, yet I find the avoiding or putting off results in a call back for me to comfort, eating things that make me feel unwell, disengaging from connecting with my friends, I get ratty and self critical. All of a sudden putting things off has a more detrimental affect on my commitment to love and be loving which is naturally me. I love your reminder that it is a choice and therefore a choice to be aware that there is in fact a choice!
Thank you for showing how simple and loving it is to choose commitment Gyl. I can feel I have resisted commitment as I have believed in a bastardised version of it. I have seen commitment as a trap – an override of what I feel is true “committing to something regardless of what I feel”. Your blog shows that the truth about commitment is very beautiful. “commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” You show that the only thing we need to commit to is ourselves and the quality of being we bring to what we do.
So true, Leonne. When we can let go of trying to control the things outside of ourselves and commit to the one thing that we have primary responsibility for: ourselves and how we express ourselves, and we commit to that, all else is allowed to fall into place.
I too have been duped by several misunderstandings of what commitment is – i.e. staying with projects/relationships longer than necessary because I was ‘committed to the end’ and also “committing to something regardless of what I feel” only to find nothing truly lasting in my life only a vicious cycle of excessive activity and then withdrawal. However committing to myself has been the key to building a personal foundation on which I have now built a true and loving life and it really is the little things and my daily presence with them.
There are indeed many misunderstandings on the word commitment. It is indeed about commitment to ourselves and the little things in the day and how present we are with them. This simplicity is all it is, perhaps too simple, but hey, let’s give it a go. It is so worth it – for ourselves and all around us.
I can relate to this True Gem, staying in projects and relationships when I already had felt that it was not truly supportive for myself so how could I have been a support and true member of a project or a true friend in the relationship. Living like this is exhausting and has nothing to do with commitment. I love how Leonne has put the true way in one sentence;’ ..the only thing we need to commit to is ourselves and the quality of being we bring to what we do.’
Thank you Leonne for breaking it down to this one sentence: “…the only thing we need to commit to is ourselves and the quality of being we bring to what we do.” It is that simple and I still struggle with this simplicity every day, even though I know my whole output depends on just that.
Well said Leonne, it is that simple it can definitely change our lives beyond anything that we can ever imagine. It is all about the quality we bring moment to moment and nothing else.
Right on time I am rereading your amazing blog- because committment is a huge thing for me in life, which I am avoided every now and then. Your blog is very supportive, thank you Gyl for claiming the truth.
You really break down commitment and what it truly is, it starts with us, and goes out from there, with responsibility a key but most of all there is a feeling of purpose when we are committed. Without commitment to us and our lives we feel purposeless.
Thank you Gyl, for sharing what commitment really is. Being there and fully present in what we are doing, whether we in the company of people or on our own makes ALL the difference. That’s when we can really start to enjoy life and see it unfold. Reading your article, every bit of commitment you share is light, and joyfull. A 110% commitment to ourselves, to a relationship, to bringing our full presence in all we do doesn’t feel daunting or heavy or difficult. Quite the opposite!
I too was caught in the constant aspiring to the next fulfillment though completely oblivious to the underlying reasons therefor, only to never find it. That is until through the presentations of Serge Benhayon and the work of Universal Medicine I was given the opportunity to see through the veil that held me blind to the downward spiral I was ‘trapped’ in by knowing not that we have a choice to be in illusion or awareness.
Thankyou Gyl, your blog has truly inspired me this morning as I can most certainly relate! I have fleeting moments of true commitment, which feel amazing, and encourage me to keep going, however I do have a little way to go. I’ve found that I try to commit to too many things at once, hence not truly commiting to one thing at a time and establishing consistency. So thankyou, I’m going to sticky tape your blog to my mirror! 🙂
I have felt that lack of commitment in my life and boy was i trying to avoid committing in full to my life,i searching for an external to save me, make it better, or take me out the experience i created for myself, for me committing in full is and was the greatest medicine i could give myself.
thank you for a profound a blog.
There is loads of good stuff in this blog Gyl, and when you think about it, it all boils down to commitment in so many ways and with the commitment to self so much else is able to happen.
I have grown up with the idea that commitment is about trying harder to do something or be someone better than who I currently am. This has set up a cycle whereby I am left constantly in a state of trying harder and harder to reach something that has a moving goal line and inside I am left with a feeling of failure. It is quite a turn around to know that I have everything I need inside and that there isn’t anything wrong with me that has to be fixed or improved. Old habits and beliefs die hard but I am certain I am now on the right track thanks to what I have learned through Universal Medicine and with the support of sessions with practitioners.
Gyl, once I was so far gone that I did not even know that commitment to life is what I was missing, too caught up in the misery of what my life had become. Now, as I explore the possibilities of a life lived well and with joy, I am learning to ask myself, ok – where am I not committed – and this brings about a greater clarity and the next area or issue to resolve by committing more deeply to life.
When I have committed to life in full everything just flows and each new moment sets up the next awesome moment. There is a strength behind each decision and no self doubt seems to enter. Bringing quality to each moment has taken a lot of commitment but when it is truly there it feels wonderful and leaves a great marker to feel and to continue taking deeper.
Thinking we commit to life by trying to make life about others is but a trick – we just keep ourselves busy.
Before we do not commit in full to ourselves, we can never truly commit to anything else.
Gyl, I love what you have shared in “commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” This says it all.
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full”
These words Gyl are so wise and simple yet, at times for me, so challenging.
Coming back to your blog is a beautiful reminder to, tenderly and lovingly, commit to life in every moment.
“…commitment is not about some huge big thing… it is about everything in life”. I love this quote about commitment. Like lots of things in life we make it bigger than what it is. Committing to self and completing all the “little things” you list Gyl develops a platform of consistency in commitment which then supports us to commit in full to all the big things as well.
These are such incredibly powerful words because there is so much conviction in them…”The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength.” If we as humanity could commit to life at this level, how incredible would we be?
On re-reading your blog Gyl what struck me is that I did not realise I wasn’t committed to life as my understanding of the word was limited to turning up to things I had committed to. Now knowing that it is about how I am with myself in what I do and doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done etc are aspects of commitment that I have had to work on, but as you say Gyl, it makes all the difference to the joy and satisfaction in life – being fully present and fully living my life in every detail, it’s magic.
Having a re-read of your blog Gyl, what comes across this time is the strength behind the commitment you write about – this feels solid enough to deal with anything. Very inspiring.
How wonderful Gyl that the children who you teach get a teacher who has such awareness and brings to them a “quality and presence” and a commitment to being all that she is. I can feel that being in the moment as you present the lesson offers them a greater learning than anything they would usually experience at school.
Your expression here Gyl is a beautiful reminder to be present in every moment and to feel the simplicity, lightness, joy and love.
Your students and colleagues are indeed blessed to have your divine presence in their lives.
Being fully committed and present will make even difficult moments simple and clear, as we will know from deep within what to do or say and will not allow tension or pressure to affect us.
what I am learning more and more is that a true commitment can only come from and with love, otherwise it is a doing, trying, burdening or forcing, all of which actually separate us from the fullness within.
Committing to expressing myself daily on these blog sites, which I am consistently doing, is supporting me to deepen my commitment in other areas of my life.
I so agree marylouisemyers, it is amazing how supportive this consistency is – a deep commitment to myself and to life.
You’ve hit the mark Mary-Louise as what you share is very powerful. My commitment to writing the comments is taking me from strength to strength both in my willingness to express and my dedication to myself.
“commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in,” and by focusing on the attention to detail into my life. Thank you Gyl for such an awesome reminder.
So true Francisco, that is the point that I take away from this blog – it is all about the quality and presence. Over the last few months I have been practising walking with nothing other than my body in my focus, feeling and allowing whatever is there. I have been able to expand this presence out into other areas of my life and this commitment is allowing more of me to be here. Funny how much of me I was not aware of.
I love to re-visit your blog Gyl, it is so supporting and brings so much awareness to how committing to life is in everything and actually that it is simply about making the choice in each moment.
What I really appreciate about the blog is its thoroughness. They way it is asking me to check my commitment to life in so many ways. It is such a good reminder of those things we let slide but in reality they all add up.
The crazy thing is we can turn our lives upside down in search of joy. We search for joy in a new job, moving house or even moving countries when all the while it is waiting to be discovered within. Committing to self care unlocks this joy and allows it to be felt, which develops a quality of being.
A great point Matthew. We constantly look for happiness outside ourselves, when the whole time the Joy is within. All we have to do is connect and it is instantly there and then everything and everyone gets blessed with that Joy.
Gyl I love your sharing, it opens the door to being in the moment, consciously present and with those who are there also.
I love what you say about commitment in full to every moment Gyl. This for me is the key to my healing. It is taking responsibility for myself, my choices, their consequences and the quality of living that I choose. When I am not present with myself it is like a false engine that I am allowing someone else to steer and control, drives me. When I take back the presence and awareness, my body stops and feels at home – I can then commit again. There can be no commitment when I am not in charge and taking full responsibility.
Commitment in full and commitment to life comes from our livingness and is so important for everything about ourselves our health and our vitality in life. This is a beautiful sharing Gyl and has something for everyone thank you. True responsibility is amazing and with integrity and love it is everything.
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” Gyl, these are absolute words of wisdom, how can we possibly be committed if we are not even there.
I absolutely agree with you Denise and Gyl, thank you for a beautiful blog…the little simple steps in life to feeling totally complete and content with myself.
I had been struggling to fit everything into my day and felt that getting up earlier than I already was would mean I would feel too tired by the end of my working day. I’ve exposed what a big ‘cop out’ that turned out to be! Once I made the commitment to get up an hour earlier, I automatically woke up at that time, feeling ready to start my day and I still go to bed at roughly the same time as before, earlier if I feel to, but effectively, I’ve gained another hour in my day, which is very cool.
Once we make the commitment to ourselves, we are supported in that choice and the universe works with us, not against us.
That’s really interesting Alison, I can definitely relate to doing this… In the past I’ve held myself back from doing things like waking up earlier or cutting out certain foods because I think the result will be me feeling more tired or not having enough energy to get through the day… It’s really not my place to prejudge this, without even experimenting with it – and there have been periods where I’ve reduced sleep by 1 hour in the morning and I’ve actually felt great!
I found that if I make it about ‘what can I bring here, in this moment?’ and not ‘ what could I get?’ – my life becomes more joyful, easy, simple and rich.
I so agree with you Sandra when I take others into account in any given moment and what I can contribute that would support them I feel far more joyful and loving then when I make it about what I can get from the situation. Making it about self is so last era!!!!
Thank you marylouisemyers! And even I am often a fan of ‘old school’, I am with you here: making it about self is last era – lets keep up-to-date!
Sounds great, Sandra. What we can bring when we totally commit to ourselves is so much more we can ever plan or control. So much wonderful miracles happening when we allow to be in the moment of our fullness in stillness.
Beautiful words Sandra, music to my ears, we need to be thinking what can I give not what can I get.
Yes Nicholas. And in ‘what I can give/bring’ is included the acceptance and appreciation of how absolutely amazing I am, a being who is belonging to divinity. And so I come from my fullness – where there is no need for anything, but a richness I can share, which I have to share. Because a part of my richness is the love for humanity and the knowing that we just will evolve together (back to God).
Sandra, I am rich, I am crying tears of joy and you have made my day.
If we commit to something, and it’s important, why not just do it. We would feel so much better, it may also help someone else in the process.
I also realised that there is always the opportunity in our days to deepen our commitment, in the moments when we know what to do but are not choosing to do it. Then little by little we make the choice to commit to our selves and then in turn all others. We commit to life, to love and to our glory its a development, and most definitely a commitment that never ends.
I had to laugh when I read your comment about that there is always the opportunity to deepen our commitment in the moments when we know what to do but are not choosing to do it. I was feeling restless, an overall un-ease came over me and was with me the past hours. Just before starting to cook I said to myself stop, let’s sit down and read a supportive blog. Just by reading this blog something shifted, reading your comment the joy came back. It’s really all about choices, every moment a window of opportunity!
Gyl reading this tonight and staying up a later, I know that I am re-developing a commitment to my expression that will never be shaken again.
Wohoo, sounds super great, Simone.
I have been very spontaneous in my life, that is what I used to call it, I now understand that I had an aversion to truly caring for myself and the idea of making a commitment to this seemed almost impossible a few years ago. “Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” This has changed so much in recent years, I love commit, rhythm, routine, I still allow time to have moments where something new can occur, a spaciousness, but life is now full of commitment to truly care and support myself and it feels wonderful and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
When I read your blog, I get in contact immediately with my responsibility. Very inspiring. The time to play games is over – it is time to take responsibility for everything I do, say, think…
Thank you for expressing clearly and with deep understanding the word commitment in your following sentence. “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” You have expressed very clearly and simply what commitment is in a way that is very easy to understand and therefore put into practice.
I agree Rosemary. This is quote is a loving reminder for me to commit to each moment and my connection in it.
Gyl, I love the joy and simplicity you have brought to commitment to life and to ourselves. “..commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” This really struck to me. The quality in what we do anything is so important.
Yes Haresh, you said it – it all comes back to the quality we are in with what we do. Simple as that.
Thank you Gyl, I can relate to this blog.I have at times been living in the next thing to do instead of being present with what I’m doing, If i do this now then I can do this and this then I will have dinner etc.. I found i was exhausting myself with all this doing in the future instead of just being present in the moment. When I focused in the moment I could feel the connection to myself, which wasn’t depleting my energy.
The word commitment had a very heavy feeling of obligation, knuckling down, gritting my teeth, and making myself get on with something I really had to do. Now I have commitment because I want to do something, realising I am worth it and enjoying learning along the journey.
Over these past months I have been aware of feeling so much more joy in my body, it’s just gorgeous. I put it down to the fact that I’ve been far more committed to the projects I am involved with, but on deeper reflection, I can feel that it’s actually that I’m more committed to ME. I’ve made more room for myself, with myself and the joy I am feeling is me. It’s all been effortless too, just through committing to the details in my life on a more consistent basis.
Alison, like you I have made more space for myself which is deeply supporting in allowing me to deepen my self-nurture and self-adoration, and just feels divine to express more and from my stillness. I agree, I observe that I have more commitment to details in all areas of my life which feels deeply supportive.
Beautiful to read, jacqmcfadden04, enjoy being with you and all that that brings.
So beautiful and profound your article. To read your line: “I now know commitment is not about some huge big thing, as we have been led to believe, but it is about everything in life, no matter how big or small.” helped me to deeply feel the beauty of presence in and with everything I do, and the grand feedback this provides. Let’s me feel how connected self-respect and -love are to the commitment to life and any- and everything, it contains. As you already have summed it up in your headline: Commitment to Self – Commitment to Life. So true.
Commitment used to feel such a heavy, no fun sort of word to me, something that would constrict me and tie me down and thus was something I pretty much avoided whenever I could. What I am feeling more and more now is how untrue that was – that there is an honouring of me in commitment that feels absolutely joyful, light and I can feel that the more I commit to myself the more I naturally commit to life.
I am finding the same Jane. As I commit more to me, I also commit more to my day to day. When I am disconnected to me, the word ‘commitment’ carries a feeling of dread. The dread carries throughout my day in all that I do and life feels awful. If I commit to maintaining a more steady connection with me, there is less burden and push.
This phrase rings so true for me, a lack of commitment indicating that I was “not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.” That is totally different way to view commitment: so often, commitment is seen as something you have to stir up in order to complete a task you don’t really want to do; this definition is exquisitely beautiful – commitment to self, love and God. What more is there?
So true Coleen, commitment used to be heavy like a rock to me. When I remember my schooldays, I had to commit to learning even I did not wanted to. Since I know Universal Medicine the word commitment has changed its meaning and I do commit to myself and to my responsibility in looking after myself – in more refined levels – because there is no end to commit to more and more love and to god – it is endless and forever rewarding back to what we allow us to open up to – and it comes back in double amount.
Gyl, it’s a joy to be reminded to highlight those little elements of our everyday life. It shows that each and every moment is an opportunity to commit to ourselves, not a switch to turn off and on, as every step is the choice to appreciate ourselves and the flow that builds is not a stop-start. The commitment is there and the steadiness as we accept life in full.
Gyl, I loved rereading your blog, especially the part where you write, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” It says it all, I need to make it consistently part of my everyday Livingness.
Realizing how different it feels if we are just in the very moment we are in: there is no worries or doubts or pressure, just being, letting more of life come to us instead of running after it trying to catch up.
Great comment Michael – I have seen myself do this many times and its funny cause you never catch life.
True Micheal Kremer and Simone Ellis, I am learning to let life come to me, but I can also still be trying to catch up. In those moments life becomes more overwhelming. But I understand now that that is my own perception and creation. It is work in progress but already understanding how it works and recognizing it when I am “trying to catch up” is already a big change.
Yes Michael, life becomes so simple when we allow life to come to us, life naturally unfolds, and what I observe is that I always find myself in the right place at the right time and with the right person….. and my body loves and appreciates that I have let go of the running around and all the doing and pushing, which was how I lived life before.
So true Sally. Commitment to being in the moment and fully present with everything we do brings consistency to life. A work in progress for me too.
Agree Lee and Sally and I feel consistency creates a certain flow in life where all I need to do is to be present with me without the planning or worrying of the mind.
Gly this is beautiful and brings a love and simplicity to commitment, expression and life. I love it . I love how you share that, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” Thank you, this is so true.
“But what if it was not something outside of us – such as a job, a house or a relationship – that brings about true change? What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?”
This is indeed a profound statement Gyl, and one that many of us could benefit from if we put into action what you are presenting here. The simplicity of making different choices about how we eat, sleep, interact with others are all ways of making a commitment to self. A work in progress, but I am definitely feeling and seeing the benefits of making these simple choices.
I agree Sandra. What is offered in this blog is profound. We often look outside to change the external without going within to the source. That is why whenever I changed something external to try to fix a situation it only brings temporary relief, no true solution or change. When I have addressed the issues within, then any change I have made to the external has been a lasting change that is a true reflection of the change I have made within.
Great that you are repeating this here Sandra, what Gyl so beautifully expressed. We do benefit greatly if we put this into action and I know this. However I seem to be much more willing to commit to something that gives me something back, like recognition or even just some kind of stimulation. But there is a stubbornness to invest into myself. I know the joy that this brings to me, but it is almost like I am more invested in getting a reward than connecting to this inner place of eternal joy, truth, love, stillness and harmony. It just does not make sense.
“The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength.” This is so inspiring Gyl, thankyou.
I was definitely doing this Gyl, ‘So often we drift from one thing to the next, never really committing to life in full, always thinking the next thing will be the one that changes our life.’ I always thought it was about being in the right job, having the right friends, doing the right hobby and so I tried changing all of these things but I still lacked self worth and felt something was missing. I now know that it is committing to myself first that has bought about change and since taking care of myself and taking responsibility for my choices and how i am I now have self worth, enjoy my work, my friends, my family and have made a commitment to all of these rather than always being on the look out for something ‘ better’.
Gyl, I love how you have simplified commitment to be with ourselves in that moment in time and not thinking about anything else. That is simple and beautiful. Love how you have taken away the complication and the dread that so many of us have been conditioned to associate the word commitment with.
Some great gems in this blog and for me the message cannot be overstated. In committing to myself first before anything else in life, I am placing the divine within me first and so allowing the quality it brings into what I do. There is so much precious time and energy wasted in committing to fixing a situation or thinking we can ‘fix’ another person, commit to ticking a lot of boxes, or to self improvement discipline, without first making the choice to connect to the divine within. It seems pointless to seek outside what is already there within us. Yet when it comes down to it, when people seek love or intimacy from another, or seek contentment, comfort or happiness from life, all that seeking comes from missing ourselves! How ridiculous it sounds when we put it like this, exposes how much energy is spent in life on covering up the choice to loose ourselves in the first place.
Since first reading your amazing article, Gyl, I have been far more aware of my commitment to myself and instead of thinking about all the things I need to do, I’ve been impulsed to do them and have been able to get appointments and bookings within a few days, where previously I’ve had to wait months … how beautiful is that. With the strengthening of my commitment I’ve been feeling so much joy, there’s a fullness of me, in me, which is just gorgeous. ‘Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.’ I feel like I’ve always had wings, but I’m just starting to fly.
The grass being apparently always greener on the other side of the fence, is what came to me when I started reading your blog. And what a perfect way to avoid responsibility and commitment to life that is, always hankering for the next fix, in whatever form that is sought: courses, trips, change of any kind for the sake of change and so the list goes on. And how exhausting it sounds, never delivering what we are after and cannot find on the outside, even if we keep trying.
I can remember spending most of my time and money on buying things just to fit the ideal lifestyle – then I would think I would have it all. Soon enough I realised that this was not it at all and in fact it made me more miserable and lost as it hadn’t ‘come true’ and therefore I was left in the devastation of this. In comes Universal Medicine and I learnt from day one that I have it all already inside of me – no money to spend and no more searching. What a simple but profound revelation. Something I will always cherish.
This is so true susanG. We go from knowing our preciousness and power when we are kids. As kids we are committed to love naturally. But something creeps in and puts layers and layers of beliefs over this innate knowing. We grow up into adults where we expect and control, we interpret and react – an exhaustive list of activities that go on mainly in our heads to keep running from the hurt of disconnecting from the love inside, from each other and from God. The outer world that we give our power to is not even there by default. It’s there because we create it in our heads first. We are therefore very committed to life always – it just depends on which kind of life we are committed to, that gives us the life that is loveless or full of love.
Even simply realizing that you have momentarily stepped away from yourself and can’t feel the love that you are, and then in that moment choose to breathe and come back to you, is a commitment right there. A commitment that confirms in that one moment, that you are your own superhero and capable of great change.
‘In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.’ …. this is so true…It is beautiful to read it like that, really beautiful.
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full”.
Of late I have been struggling with being present in every moment; my thoughts often wander to future planning causing me to wobble and become anxious.
Your words here Gyl are a lovely gentle reminder to stay within me at every moment thus fully committing to life.
It’s interesting to observe how often we can override what we are feeling in the moment and jump in with things to say to fill the space. I recently connected to the fact that commitment to me means commitment to feeling the truth of what I am feeling in each moment and giving myself the space to do that. It is also a commitment to myself to then express and communicate this when it is needed or appropriate.
I really like what you are expressing here Rebecca but it feels a bit like what my mother always told me. “Think before you speak”. I was sort of under the impression that what we express from the body is our truth and when we are present we don’t have to give it any consideration but can trust it implicitly
I have found it is impossible to ‘commit to life’ without first the commitment to self in a true way. I had the idea that commitment to life meant tackling lots of tasks and racing around doing things for others, trashing oneself in the process. The consequence of that was a destroyed body and the overwhelm of exhaustion, feeling life as a burden, and devoid of joy or even remotely any fun. I have also found that in this self-abuse, it is easier to take on the abuse of others, not standing up to it and expressing that it is not ok – because of the constant program that I must have done something wrong.
Now I have pressed the reset button and it is first and foremost the commitment to self, to honouring what this body needs and respecting its rhythms; most importantly stopping the harsh self-criticism of not having done enough, failed or done something wrong. It’s not rocket science to see the quality that will result from this is not going help anyone or anything. So the first steps of commitment to self, which is the beginnings of true commitment to life, are already bringing back the joy of just being, and from there what is done is done with true commitment. As you have said Gyl, it is about bringing that quality of full presence and connection, and that can only expand once we have brought that foundation to ourselves.
Coming back to this blog again today the word ‘distraction’ leaps out at me – how often do I sit at my desk to do a job on my computer and then get distracted by something else and end up rushing or frustrated because I didn’t leave enough time for the first job. For me a good commitment to make is to stay focused on whatever I am doing at the time and not to allow distractions.
Hi Carmel, it seems to me that the very nature of everything on the World Wide Web is to distract us from our purpose, with millions of ‘look at me’s’. I can easily ignore them when I am short of time but as soon as I relax a little and feel some ease, that is when I am susceptible.
The merry-go-round of searching for joy – how true that we always seek outside of ourselves for the perfect ending to our dream, and yet, as the wise men have said all through the centuries, the answer lies within.
Isn’t it interesting how we create so many stories, issues and complexities throughout our lifetimes, when the truth that has been presented again and again – is simple. “The answers lie within”
“I have been part of that searching for something outside of myself that I thought would make me happy in life – the religion, the partying, the cool gang, the art, the guru, the yoga, the job, the travel, the hundreds of career changes, the diet, the perfect body, the relationship, the self help, the new age, the course, the qualification, all the “if only this or that then my life would be different”… What a brilliant list, Gyl, it covers everything, and of course, it is everything that is mostly currently accepted as being the way to live, the big success story in whatever field we have chosen, the experience we have gained from many jobs or even just one job, the number of qualifications we have gained, the fitness we work hard to sustain and so on. Commitment always seems to have meant committing to something or somebody outside ourselves, and that truly reveals the rot beneath all the ideals and beliefs in our society, for commitment to self has often been interpreted as selfish and nothing to do with nurturing ourselves so that our lives open up in front of us instead of the perpetual greed for something more.
I spent years jumping from place to place, the location I lived, the job I did, the hobbies and pastimes, the new friends I made, looking for a satisfaction that I now realise has nothing to do with these distractions and instead is related to being willing to accept myself and enjoy my own company and importantly commit to everything I am doing with all I have. This is a new found commitment to recognise I am amazing, and that great things can happen when I make the effort to apply myself with all I have, no more needed and no less, to all the things I do each day.
“What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?” This one question is something that the world could well be asked to ponder, something we should be sharing and reflecting to the next generation. Its of course the opposite to the way many industries, religions and institutions are founded on but in my experience its the only true way forward.
A powerful and evolutionary commitment to self that deepens everyday, what a way to live your life.
My commitment to life until I found Universal Medicine was treating life like a time clock and work. I would clock in and out all day long… or better check in and out. Most of my life was lived off the clock, which is funny in a sense because I never seemed to have enough time to do things when I was off the clock. By being committed to life and clocked in almost all the time… time is more irrelevant and everything just flows, I have found this to be true.
“In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me” this statement alone should be plastered on every billboard around the country. Just this alone is the answer to so many of humanities issues, our disconnection with our true self, our connection to God and knowing we are so much grander than we will ever know. That this plane of life is just not it, there is so much more!!
Gyl, I can read your blog over and over. It is really beautiful and it supports me to come back to me a little when I drift.
“The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength. There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.”
The simplicity of committing to each moment, means that we are therefore committed to ourselves and to life. I love how you have brought this forward to look at Gyl, as it makes it very difficult to complicate things when you look at it this way. Being present in every moment can be easier at times than at others, but overall ‘practice makes better’ (not perfect, as we are human after all!). A great revelation.
Committing to ourselves, in each moment and life is vital, as is being present and, ‘what makes all the difference is that I am there, fully present with myself and the children’, what a difference this makes as you say Gyl.
Gyl I fully agree with you, one big thing I’ve noticed changes, when I am choosing to fully commit to life, is I am always ready and waiting for the next thing, rather than dreading what may come up to be done and trying to avoid it. I actually want to do more and I Love doing every moment of it with myself until the next thing dances my way. Not just that, but time magically appears to do all that is there to be done. Gosh why wouldn’t we want to fully commit to life in every moment, life becomes joyous.
What you share Toni is true, I find the more I do with a joyful acceptance and appreciation the more simply it is done. The procrastination goes out the window and space opens up for what ever is in front of me.
This is beautiful and so true Gyl thank you for sharing this with such real simplicity and ease of living. It brings a real focus and joy to life lived this way with true commitment and love.
This constant searching is a very familiar feeling and a very exhausting too as there is never any rest or contentment. Once I felt (through Universal Medicine’s Gentle Breath Meditation) that it is as simple as reconnecting back to me, then the searching is no more and I start to look from within.
The simplicity of life that steadily grows the more I am committed to life and to myself – this still amazes me every day.
I love what you have presented here Gyl and with such simplicity showing that ‘commitment’ is not a heavy weight or chore that has to be endured.
Yes Melissa it is so interesting that we can give the word commitment such a heavy feeling, when actual fact through commitment we bring simplicity, connection, light and love into our lives and the lives of others.
Great and timely read of this blog, thank you Gyl. This level of commitment is one that I have recently come to discover – that this is not something you do but something that you live. But the most revealing thing that I have come to is that when you apply this to your life it is not to sit back and yeah I have got this – that I have made the choice to commit and put your feet up. That there is actually a deeper level of commitment that you can go to. Asking yourself to take this commitment even further. To appreciate the commitment that you have made and to say yes this feels so true and I know I can be more in what I do.
Thank you for so simply stating that commitment in each moment is about choosing to be in the moment: in all our presence. I have also had a picture of what/how commitment works!
I love this blog Gyl. It really releases the burden and heaviness that can be associated with the word and notion of commitment. I love this line, it Sums it up beautifully. ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full’ just gorgeous you have reframed commitment for me and made it all very practical, it is an everyday quality of how I am with myself and others. I had never viewed commitment in this way before. Thank you. Very insightful.
I loved that line too annemarie00 – it makes perfect sense. How can we be fully with ourselves in the moment if our mind is trailing off? Commitment is how we are in every moment.
So true revans917. How can we be committed and be in two places, in our mind or body. It makes so much sense.
I really love re-reading your blog Gyl. It is one of the most important questions to ask “what if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?” So many people search outside of themselves. And even though knowing what you share I still catch myself at times thinking “if only this or that ….” And I have also experienced that it is not so much what we do, but in the
quality and presence we are in when doing whatever it is that we are doing.
Gyl from my greater understanding of commitment after reading your blog I feel it’s not this impossible to handle, overwhelming part of my life to avoid. It’s what I’m already doing. And yes, areas in my life are asking for loving focus; not criticism but understanding. I can cut any self-created resentment and the rebellious refusal to change knowing this focus actually feels so loving because it’s me coming back to me just by me being with myself in each moment. So simple, nothing overwhelming at all.
The overwhelm only starts when I leave myself and start considering how my being this way may cause an issue in others, then I’ll have to deal with …….blah blah blah. Come back to me and that’s it is this simple. If I am with me in this way I am with God too, so I am inline with God’s will and need not worry about how things unfold because God has that in hand.
I have read this before & I am sure that I will read it again. Gyl this is such a great and practical ‘how to be present and committed in full’ blog.
Beautiful blog, Gyl. Since I have committed to life and me, I have completely turned my life around and feel such a joy in life now. I loved reading the commitments you have listed. Yes, they are all small as you say, but they add up to a huge commitment to myself. I have made many of these commitments too, and just love carrying them out. I seem to have visited the Dr. a number of times lately, that feels what is necessary at the moment. I now feel what is required and act upon it. I love going to bed early now, actually I have never really wanted to be up late, but have stayed up to fit in with others. I thought I was retired, but have never been so busy in my life but really enjoying it.
Thank you Gyl, for a great blog.
I love this blog Gyl, you make it sound so simple and that’s because it is , we often forget about the simplicity of how to live every day.
We are so trained to keep chasing so many things in life in the hope that they will make us feel better – and nothing seems to make anyone content. I love what you say: “In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.” Most of my life I avoided commitment. But what you say is profound, when I allow myself to feel my connection to myself, to God and the love that I feel within me, I naturally feel committed to the whole world.
“Isn’t it strange how we can be on what seems like a never-ending merry-go-round searching for joy” yet all the while the joy we are searching for is inside ourselves all the time. As you eloquently express, Gyl, the key to discovering and living this joy is through commitment to oneself.
When I say YES to something with 100% commitment then the path opens up and every thing I need to support what it is I have said yes to is available for me. For example if I say yes to a certain project even though I may think I will not know how to do certain aspects of it, what I have experienced is when the time comes I do know what to do or the right support is there for me to draw on.
I so agree Gyl. Turning up to each and every moment no matter what I am doing is true commitment to myself. When I abdicate from self responsibility my body literally starts to fall apart by no longer operating as a cohesive whole. Ouch.
Whenever I have chosen to committ to life I have found that everything in life has just been there waiting for me to take that next step and it is just that simplicity of how it all comes together for the higher benefit of all.
Yes agreed Francisco. It has shown me that really the issues I have experienced in life have only appeared to be “issues” because of the way i have approached life – without a commitment and dedication to embracing the whole of it as my everyday norm.
The joy is felt in your words Gyl – love this. Through the deepest inspiration of Serge Benhayon, I’ve also found that commitment and responsibility in life is in no way a drudge, but rather, I am enlivened, consistently joyful and yes, intimately connected with ‘me’ and my own body. I like to refer to the quality in which I meet each part of the day as ‘committed presence’. If any part of me withdraws or wavers, it’s simply a choice of deepening the connection with me and my body (as simply as feeling my feet, my breath..), and getting on with it.
Brilliant Shirley-Ann. A sure-fire way to not lose oneself, or check out from life – but rather build a consistent way of bringing all that we are, to everything in our day, and equally so. There is just so much richness within us, to truly get to know and discover, if we are willing to commit ourselves to life and the living of it, isn’t there… supported via our ability to be deeply connected with our body in all that we are and do.
beautifully said Victoria. Commitment and presence go hand in hand, and you cannot have one without the other.
Agreed Adam. It is through this, that I’ve come to understand what being ‘committed in life’ truly means – it’s how we are in everything.
And this need not mean we are ‘driving’ ourselves at all either – for if we are truly in touch with ourselves, we can be as equally committed in presence when we allow the deepest rest.
I love what you’ve shared Victoria. Rather than creating a drama or issue out of loosing connection a simple choice can bring us back. Boy we can waste time going into the complexities when the simple answers are all in a breath.
EXACTLY Revans917. Boy can we create unnecessarily complication out of losing connection with ourselves – only further delaying being with the beauty of who we are, that awaits ‘presently’ all along…. Go figure…
Thank God for Serge Benhayon who has ongoingly presented just how simple it can be to reconnect, and from there, walk forward with all that we truly are.
Absolutely agree with all that you’ve said Victoria. I get that being committed to life is as simple as how we are in all that we do. Serge Benhayon has helped me no end to be more aware of how I am within myself and how to reconnect back if I’m feeling off.
Hear, hear Fiona. The tools and awarenesses Serge Benhayon has consistently presented offer all that we could ever ‘want for’, in terms of how we may, via our own choices, live our own keys to evolution – i.e. taking every step solidly in returning to the magnificence we are from.
“Committed presence” : why would we not want that? It feels beautiful: thank you, Victoria.
‘Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.’ Love what you share here, Gyl. All the little things are what matters, the more we bring all of us to each little thing in our day, we are pouring buckets of love into our ‘foundation’, building consistency. This is the platform from which we live, the more love we pour in, the more love there is to feed us back, so much joy to be felt here. For myself, I know I have a lot of work to do with consistency, but experiencing the joy from those buckets of love is exquisite.
I love this blog and relate to much of the details expressed here – especially having found the deep joy within me that comes from being 110% committed to life, my expression, my relationships and where I am loving myself (or identifying where i am not loving myself sometimes). Commitment is truly transformational and shows us who we really are.
gemmarubina,I feel deeply the confirming comments to this amazing blog, and your words “….being 110% commited to life, my expression, my relationships and where I am loving myself…” very meaning-full as I reflect on what this phrase ‘being commited to life’ actually means or has supposedly meant to me in the past. I have discovered it is far more than saying to oneself “okay, I commit to being here, on earth at this time, let’s just get on with it.”, like a duty, a difficult or unpleasant chore, because of the pain, the hurts and the challenges that face one each day. I have found that these hurts, challenges and pain that one feels is not always a tangible thing beckoning the question “why does one feel so separate, so alone? and where does this come from?” I am discovering being commited to life is not just accepting that we are alive here and physically moving about on the earth’s surface, but to the deeper core issues of ‘being’ here in full and not allowing the encumbant forces of the issues, ills and woes of the world to impact and impose on ones duty of care so to speak to nurture and care deeply for oneself. I feel now it is to relish the beauty in which we are intrinsically imbued and to reflect and emanate that beauty so all that which surrounds us in the space between ourself and the next person is filled with that love that one feels deeply within that one is a part of. This I feel is what I am unfolding, a different perception of what ‘being commited to life’ really means for me.
Roberta, you have taken this to another level and thank you – I also relate to the beauty I feel within myself and how this emanates for all to feel and that with this there is a responsibility to reflect this consistently for all to be reminded that this same beauty is within them too. This is a responsibility and therefore commitment on my part is required to ensure that I am living in way for this beauty to be registered by others, if they acknowledge it or not matters not, the commitment it still there.
I love what is presented here about commitment and what it means. The assuredness that being committed brings leaves a deep sense of purpose and confidence in honouring what feels true. I can feel the truth when Gyl shares that commitment has to come from the whole body – you cannot be committed half heartedly – when there is an ounce of wanting to say or do something but not in full that’s when it becomes a duty or a chore and we feel lesser when we do it or we attempt to do it – that’s when self doubt or self sabotage comes in to play and we allow ourselves to feel less than who we truly are or get swayed by others’ opinions or hurts.
Yes so many of us (me included) have turned up to work reluctantly, not really wanting to be there, but performing our “duties” because we have to. There is no real service here, it’s just ticking the boxes to make it look OK but is very depleting. However when I go to work truly committed there is a vast difference in how I feel. It’s like absolutely nothing is too much trouble – I will go that extra mile and will not feel exhausted. There is a real joy in connecting to my students and colleagues, and everything I do has purpose, even the most mundane of tasks because they are seen as an opportunity to connect more deeply and to refine my quality, which then is what I then take with me into all the other tasks and interactions I perform. An upside of committing to work in full has made me more aware of other areas of my life where I am not as committed – learning to commit in all that I am and all that I do is still a work in progress.
Kristy such a great comment, and what a way to work in the world.
“The assuredness that being committed brings leaves a deep sense of purpose and confidence in honouring what feels true.” Powerful words Michelle.
Thank you Michelle and Kristy, I agree and in being committed in full, we are also being responsible for our part, which actually affects everyone around us.
“saying yes to a relationship with ourselves”. Pure Gold. Without a doubt an essential relationship that is the foundation of everything.
Over and over again, saying yes to deepening that relationship with myself is a key Matthew. That also involves appreciating the moments when I am fulling committing to the moment and accepting what is without judgment.
Yes Jenny, I agree…without judgement is key!
It has taken me a long time to want to choose to have a relationship with myself, and I still find it challenging to make loving choices sometimes – but these times are getting less and less and the commitment to a loving relationship with myself grows day by day.
Same with me Simone, I have come a long way but still only feel I am scratching the surface with this and had hit a bit of a plateau. In the last few days I have started to recommit to feeling and being all that I am and loving and appreciating who I am … starting to 😄
I agree Matthew, too often we neglect our gorgeous selves and become distracted by our relationship with another, believing that all comes from them. The oldest trick in the book!
It is indeed the oldest trick in the book. Great to (finally) start exposing it.
And that distraction in a relationship can be with anybody, a partner, family, friends, work colleagues, even strangers – it may not necessarily be about asking them to bring us something such as love – but we may choose to get involved and use another person’s issues as a distraction to avoid deepening our connection, relationship and commitment to ourselves.
In all of the time I have had intimate relationships, never did I consider the relationship with myself as being the one that I needed to work on, cultivate and nurture. I always looked for someone else to provide me with all of the love, and attention that I was craving from myself. But once I did make that switch of focus, and started to look at myself as the source of all that I had been looking for in someone else, not only did my own well being change for the better, but my relationships have improved astronomically!
I know right relationships, we talk about them the whole time but completely forget or ignore the one with ourself … and that’s the most important. Crazy!
I agree Naren, the more I build a loving and caring relationship with myself, the more joy I feel and the more amazing relationships I have with everybody.
Agreed Matthew I’ve also come to understand without this there is no relationship possible with anyone else – it makes sense yet before meeting Serge Benhayon it was not even on my radar.
Well said Matthew. It is without a doubt the most important relationship to build on, where all other relationships can build from.
What a great exploration of commitment Gyl. I paused to feel in my body the sentence ‘On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life.’ It was like reading Commitment 101. Commitment to your quality and presence – to being present in your body in what you are doing is in essence saying ‘I commit to being here and doing what is at hand to be done’. It is very different to living by the checklist, this is saying ‘I don’t want to be with me or be in life so I am only ticking the boxes to make my lifetime here comfortable’.
‘In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.’ Suzanne what fabulous insight you offer us all here. I can certainly relate to a lifetime spent avoiding me and I’ll hazard a guess many others can too. And what craziness we create and live for ourselves (and therefore impose on others) when we step away from who we really are. And we only have to take a micro-step to the side for it to begin. A very slippery slope, but one we can come back from.
I agree Gyl, it is that attention to detail when I am connected with my whole body.
Commitment has to come from my whole body.
And really wonderfully written from your body too Gyl.
So true, Gyl, simple but very powerful. My body offers the true feeling of whether what I want to do is really in line with a rhythm and purpose coming from within me, from my essence, or if it is coming from an expectation, or belief taken on from outside of me. Plus when I am out of connection and rhythm with myself, it is incredible how easy it is to fall for the latter. So the body is the foundation of both quality of being and action.
Gyl, I can totally relate to what you wrote. It is not about what we do in our daily lives, but it is how we do it. Steady, lovingly and with conscious presence. A long time ago a person said to me how much he enjoys preparing things lovingly like a dinner for example, to the point when he finally sits down and eats. He enjoys all the little steps till the final. At that time for me only the outcome (e.g. the dinner) was important, I was not aware how much the steps in between are important as they lead to the beautiful final.
Some time ago an elder lady said ‘Oh my God, how lovingly I have cut the green beans today! I have never cut them so lovingly before!’ How amazing is that? This sentence accompanies me in my every day actions – as they repeat every day.. morning shower, work, food preparing , connecting with people – connecting with me.
I’m feeling your solidness Brendan….and can feel how building on this solidness by commiting to expressing truth is how we evolve – I too am commited to expressing my truth in every moment.
On reading this blog I felt into my commitment to myself and could feel that in the past commitment meant a commitment to someone else- a relationship. a union of two.
Committing to myself was a concept that I never considered. And back then my life was in chaos. Since Ive been going to workshops and presentations by Serge Benhayon I have learnt what it is to have a commitment to myself, that commitment touches all aspects of my life. I feel so solid in the world now so present.
Thanks for yet another insightful article Gyl. You have defined ‘commitment’ beautifully. Thank you.
I sometimes find that I lose my commitment to myself in order to commit to something else – like my job. Yes the job needs to be done and I need to be on time, but if I lose my commitment to myself in the process I have put my commitment to my job before myself. It’s still a work in progress for me to commit to remaining true to me before stepping into anything.
Hi Rebecca, yes true, the quality of something I do, always carries the state of being I am in. If I lose myself for something how can I bring the full me to it? I can’t unless I commit again to me.
What I realised most after reading this great blog is how much I have caused unnecessary stress and anxiety for myself when I have not committed fully to various things, and instead have either complained about a certain situation or have been indecisive about committing fully for fear of getting hurt emotionally. What you showed me Gyl is how refreshingly easy and joyful commitment to ourselves and life can be once we let go of the ‘burden’ of it that isn’t even really there in the first place.
I wholeheartedly agree, Brendan. When I held back what I was feeling, I can feel I was choosing to discount myself and also the other person. I can tell myself that it’s because I’m afraid of how the other person would react, but the truth is, if I believe something to be true, why wouldn’t I want to share that with another, do I really believe they are ‘better off’ not knowing that there may be another way of looking at the situation? The more I hold back my truth I’m hurting both myself and the other person. The more I allow myself to express freely, I’m surprised by what comes out of my mouth, maybe because it’s coming from my body, not my head. The beautiful part is, I’m also finding that more often than not, the other person totally ‘gets’ what I am sharing and agrees with me. Clearly exposing my fears were totally unfounded and just a way to keep me small.
“The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength. There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.’
Maybe self doubt is not our ‘voice of reason’, there to protect us from making a big mistake, from making ourselves vulnerable only to fall on our face.
Maybe self doubt is really a way of keeping ourselves small, allowing us to hide.
When we choose to commit to ourselves, as you say so beautifully Gyl, there is no space for anything other than absolute joy.
Self doubt is a complication
So true Gyl. Self doubt is a complication.
Thank you Gyl, the way you have shared about commitment has just removed “this is so huge” aspect for me of committing to life fully. Let’s be honest here, that’s what I’ve been struggling with. You have shared just how simple it can be with a choice of being present with myself, beautiful and powerful, thank you again
Isn’t it funny how we turn the most simplest of things into a dilemma, drama, excuse, issue or complication – when the answer requires a simple yes or no.
Actually not so funny – more exhausting and to be honest in my case boring – why do we go round and round in circles doing the same thing, when we know it doesn’t work in the first place? What are we delaying?
Great addition in this comment Gyl as I have had the word ‘delay’ ruminating as I read through the comments and the relationship between commitment and what I delay. I have noticed if I am not confident to do a task I will often delay it only to find when I do sit down and focus it took little time and was quite easy yet I will allow the task to sit in my body draining, causing complication, angst and heaviness when all I am resisting is presence and focus, as you say ‘saying yes’ or in one word, capital C – Commitment.
Gyl this was a lovely piece to read as it revealed to me that our commitment to life is in the quality we bring to all our daily deeds. I can feel for myself the difference when I commit to being completely in the moment, there is a lightness, presence and joy that isn’t there when I think about what has been or what is coming up. When I look at small children I am reminded of the fact that they so naturally live in the moment and life has a slower pace. I can feel the joy and realise this is something we can all bring back to our lives if we choose to commit to being ourselves in every moment.
This is also what I took from this blog Jade. That commitment to life is the quality that we bring to our daily deeds. So refreshing to approach commitment in this way. As you say it is so much more light and expansive. A joy.
I loved reading your blog Johanna, and it’s great to have an understanding around commitment to life and how if we don’t bring all of us to each thing that we do, it’s actually not true commitment, and we are actually only going into a tick boxing exercise and into a need of some sort. Then the richness of ourselves is missing from the task that we are doing and everyone misses out on a truly love-filled interaction. The key to a joyful life.
“Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things”. Gyl you have shown how the daily routines can be made so delicious when we choose to be fully present with them. Thank you.
“If I say I will do something, committing to it and taking responsibility, not making excuses to avoid it or doing it with resentment.”…..powerful words here Gyl (amongst many) but this stood out for me today. I keep coming back to this blog because commitment (or lack thereof) is such a big one for me at the moment. It is taking that responsibility and not feeling the resentment because you have done so. It is/as my choice.. As it always is.
What I also have to watch for is judgement – of myself and others – I wobble, I stuff up, I have my issues with commitment – it is compassion and understanding of myself and others that is supporting me to be more and more loving. For me commitment is love.
Commitment to life, with everything we are makes a huge difference to what we do, and how we do it. It becomes a joy rather than a chore.
Committing to myself and to life is not one big grand gesture that gets done once as I used to believe but about how I am with myself in every moment of every day. I have a choice every moment to feel and know where my commitment to truth and love stand which is very empowering.
Awesome blog Gyl. As my commitment to knowing myself and caring for myself deepens a little more each day, so too, and naturally so, does my commitment to life. And with this the old sabotaging behaviours that have owned me in the past are more easily exposed and uprooted. I am starting to feel how joyful and juicy true commitment can be. It feels like baby steps, but in saying this I also deeply appreciate how far I’ve come from the existence of numbness and checked-out-ness that was my life until only a few years ago.
There is an inner glow that is felt when I am 110% enjoying being with my self. As you say Gyl it is in the quality of the presence I am choosing to be with me in the moment. No matter what task I may be completing, I’m with me with that task, not multi tasking and in the head at the same time.
Thank you Gyl for this powerful and inspiring blog.
So well said Gyl, I have found too that how I feel about myself influences so much how I feel about different circumstances in life. I have been trying the ‘when I have the job I want, the boyfriend I want, the house I want …. then I will feel better’, but indeed this is not true and does not work. Like for you, what really changed my feeling of not being content in life is the commitment to myself. My commitment to being kind and gentle with myself, being my own best friend so to speak, my commitment to exercise, nourish, and take very good care of myself. I now feel very joyful with myself almost all the time, I am not perfect but wow! I feel very different in life than I did before.
Gyl these very simple points really do make a massive difference to how I experience life, health, wellbeing and relationships. It is great to talk about that empty restlessness that most of us have felt from time to time.. not really committing to anything fully. Committing to myself and the little day to day things that support me has really changed this feeling of restless ‘there must be something more’. Connecting with and building a relationship with myself has shown me I don’t need to be more. I am actually very solid as I am – and I am learning more and more about just how solid my life can be. I really like how this feels – no more yo yoing. I have the very real life and practical teachings of Universal Medicine to thank for that.
Your view of commitment is very refreshing – rather than the heavy weight of responsibility that we often see it as, but instead as a natural part of life.
I love your list, Gyl, makes it really tangible. For me commitment could feel heavy and a ‘duty’ and I didn’t associate it with joy at all. I am more and more committed to myself and to life, but I am building consistency. Consistency is for me an important ingredient.
Commitment was never really been my middle name so to speak and I have been avoiding it like the plague. But lately I am really enjoying it and this has to do with the relationship I have developed with myself. I like being me more and more and being with me, so to commit to myself is actually really great. The more I do that, the more I bring that commitment to life and everything that I do. Then commitment is not something big or serious, but actually very joyful, just like myself.
I realised I had developed a fear of committing to anything fully. The fear was one of getting hurt. I had so many expectations about how things should be and if it wasn’t as I expected that would be the cue for me to withdraw and change track or path. It feels like a very old and well used path, even with awareness it still sneaks in.
This is an interesting insight into lack of commitment Nicole to be aware of. As you say withdrawing from a commitment can be sneaky as the task may still be done but the commitment to quality and presence in that task might be lacking. It can be covered over with a box ticking relationship disguised by getting it done. What a wonderful awareness to open to, to come to know from the body and be able to note when something has started to become a kill joy.
What is commitment to self? I have turned this one over and over for many years and only now it begins to dawn on me just how critical to everything this is. From reading your article Gyl I understand how the impact of a lack of commitment to ourselves is so severely detrimental and damaging to all aspects of our life. And yet there is a way to quite simply reverse it by choosing our way out of it back to true health. There are problems in life, even misery and terrible destruction but our ability to turn things around astounds me and it is a dead giveaway that we come from a divine place much greater than humanity may have ever imagined.
Oh my word Gyl, what a solid blog – not in that it’s heavy, but in that it feels really practical and real and alive with the foundations of all the moments in your days that are lived in commitment to your presence with you, your quality. Gorgeous to feel how your list is full of love and space and support, no boxes to tick, no being identified by achieving this or that, but full of commitment to living all of you. I will be revisiting this blog – and very definitely taking a leaf out of this book as this has traditionally not been a strength for me, and is an area that would benefit from development. I’ve found I’ve spent much of my life feeling like the whole world is all upside down – and not knowing how to be with that, have tended to spend a stack of effort trying to escape and distance myself from it (and me – as that where the awareness of it all comes from!) – rather than just being with me and taking me to anything and everything I do. Officially a work in progress – and already making a HUGE difference in life in the areas where commitment to be here as fully as I’m able has been re-chosen.
I love how you explain how natural and joyful it is to commit to yourself Gyl. I feel I have seen commitment to life and commitment to me as two separate things but this blog shows this is not the case at all.
So true Leonne. I had also thought of them as two separate things. But this makes so much sense, that to commit to ourselves is committing to life as our life is the consequence of all the choices we make in every moment. Very insightful blog.
Every time I find myself lagging and commit to myself, to life, just that bit more, I feel a sense of effortless freedom that propels me forward, and I realise that every skerrick of burden and worry is just a trick to keep me down.
Lovely insight Jenny, I am realising it too. For me it’s an old way of thinking that I use to stay being comfortable and familiar and in control instead of expanding forth into what I could be. Burden and worry is utterly crazy and a complete waste of energy. If the commitment, to what I have undertaken, is true and that is connected to, then the energy is there to do it, despite any wailing from the spirit.
Hello Jenny James, I love what Gyl Rae has said about commitment and it’s true for me, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” I can see from any ‘lag’, question etc in any moment doesn’t come from commitment but almost a lack connection to the moment we are in. It is almost like we can’t stay in the moment but go off thinking about something else. It is possible if we dedicate to just being truly in the moment as Gyl said, then this is all we simply need to do.
Yes Ray, connection comes before anything, I feel that when I am re-connecting I am re-committing to myself and the purpose that is naturally there.
Hello again Jenny James and well said I agree, “connection comes before anything” not as a rule so much but as a natural starting point.
‘I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague’ Why on earth would we do this? Is it a challenge that takes us out of our comfort zone? Are we so ingrained in our ‘poor me’ identification that doing something for ourselves that will help us to evolve feels like we lose our sense of self? And yet, it is through making that commitment and re-connecting with our innermost selves that we find out who we truly are.
Wow superb comment Carmel asking me, am I so caught up in my identity as a victim that I sabotage my own evolution? What is the choice I have before me in every second? To become aware of who I truly am, who we all truly are, and live in a way that every movement is aligned to the universe; or to stay unaware and reduce my focus to enjoying the feeling in my mouth of a biscuit, or the mental stimulation of a good TV programme. I’m being offered the world when I commit but when I don’t and choose comfort I’m only accepting a pebble!
Thank you Gyl this is a great sharing for true commitment to self brings true commitment to life I am also finding and this is a beautiful experience and way to live. It is bringing a presence and fullness to life in a very real ,simple, down to earth and joyful way bringing a real appreciation and love to everyday life with health ,vitality and a steadiness of being and appreciation of everyone with understanding.It also brings a claiming of all that needs to be changed addressed and not accepted in the world.
Reading your blog today Gyl, what stood out for me was : “…when I go for a walk, I am walking with me, not planning my day or thinking about everything else.” – I am practising this too and I find myself talking to my self about what I see, how my body feels or the air on my skin – I do this to stay present and really enjoy it as I walk.
That is such a great point Karina and what a beautiful way to stay with ourselves, something I will bring more attention to in order to keep my very wilful mind from wandering off in to the future, as it is so easily prone to doing!
Wow Gyl I love your list of how you live now – totally committed and not waiting for things to have to be done – but rather understanding that self-love means you proactively do what is needed in a loving way.
I’m actually finding it so much simpler when I don’t run away from whats needed to be done – ie visiting the doctor/ dentist – this is life and these things are part of life. Fact. So we have an opportunity of how we address these tasks.
Hello hvmorden, I agree and for me I also see that Gyl Rae is saying that, “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” In this there is an equal dedication to the quality that is in each moment rather than just getting things done.
I agree hvmorden. I’ve found that when I’m following an impulse to do something I’ve been putting off, I can be very supported. I called to make an appointment for a skin check, normally the wait is at least 3 months, and there had been a cancellation that morning and I was seen two days later. No coincidence.
What a confirmation Alison – I find the same thing! When I do follow that tiny little niggling – and I take steps to do what is really needed, things are so simple and easy. It becomes a very quick phone call and I have the next steps forward, rather than a task that becomes annoying because I’ve chosen to delay it.
As we step into more responsibility for how we are living, to me it only makes sense that every single area is addressed. We can become masters of waiting – for someone else to go first, to speak up, to make changes…so avoiding the everyday tasks is no different. Everything is an opportunity.
I’ve learned the value of responding to medical invites and check ups as soon as received, not waiting for second and third reminders and not as you say running away from them and shows a willingness to work in partnership with health practitioners.
Partnership is a great word here. To me it says equality, openness, working together. I’ve certainly found that in esoteric healing sessions that I have attended, when I walk into that session the whole room supports me to express whats coming up for me. And from there I have a very open and building conversation with my practitioners about what is going on and why. There is not an once of judgement but rather a room full of love. This has also deeply supported me in transforming the way I am with any practitioner. Partnership is a beautiful thing to take into our next visit with anyone who is treating us; doctor, dentist, practitioner.
This is a gorgeous piece of writing with ‘lists’ of behaviours that are so relatable to our human experience. And I totally get that desperately seeking the fix outside of ourselves when the ‘answer’ is right within us all the time. My game play is about responsibility, a worthy partner of commitment…, and I am ever more aware of the oscillation between viewing responsibility as a burden, wanting someone else to ‘rescue’ me, to relating to it as a gift and ally in my development and return to the ‘place within’ – my inner most heart and the seat of true relationship with God and life. I love your lightness of touch, gylrae, and the way you talk about realising true commitment is a sweet, supportive, and evolving thing…thank you.
Wow, I also have always found responsibility to be a burden and a strain whereas actually when I consider the truth of responsibility then it is so clear that it is actually simply presenting us with another opportunity to evolve and develop.
I love your statements about Joy here Gylrae and can feel it so fully. Who would have thought through all those years of seeking that the simple truth about joy is here in being connected to ourselves, fully so. Your words on commitment hit home too. I can feel how I have had one foot out of the door at my work and that all this does in truth is disconnect me from that joy-full place. More work to do!
On the one hand the list reads like a list of the obvious things to do, on the other, to some it might read like a self help manual gone mad – especially if they consider that only neurotics are this conscientious!
The truth is much simpler – when we take care of ourselves, more and more of these things happen naturally without any effort.
This is so true Christoph, Gyl’s list does become simple and natural in the flow of our life.
Ha ha, I know what you mean. Yes, the list is ‘obvious’, all things we ‘should’ be doing to take care of ourselves, so why is it that we don’t all consistently do them?
For me, I know it comes back to consistent commitment, something I need to work on, feeling the love and appreciation for myself every day. The list then becomes joyful and part of my rhythm and not just another thing to add to my day.
It is true Christoph, so easy to get in to a list of do and don’t, of trying to show the world we have it all together or that we are part of an elite group, rather than the simplicity and power of how we are each day.
Many people do not know what it is to self care or how to take care of themselves, so this may be a supportive place to start.
I really love your blog Gyl. It stands by itself to show the world what we can do and shows what is possible, by just being committed to life in full.
hi Gyl, I have found that working hard is not commitment if I am not present in what I am doing – it is a willingness and a commitment to be present with myself first in what I am doing in every moment and putting effort into that first and foremost. This is very powerful when we commit in this way and yet we can avoid this as you say like the plague and instead get tempted by distractions and thoughts about the day etc. Thank you for the reminder.
The more I commit the more consistency there is in my life which in a way creates a flow where things get done more on an impulse as they come up instead of spending time trying to work out in my head how or when to do them.
Agreed Francisco, and that is a fulfilling and deeply confirming flow to live in. Again it links in with being in my body, my body is the way back to me.
‘So often we drift from one thing to the next, never really committing to life in full, always thinking the next thing will be the one that changes our life.’
So true, and when we’re looking forward, we are NOT in the moment. All the time we’ve spent ‘searching’, waiting for the ‘thing’ that’s going to full-fill us, we are existing in life, but not really living it. Like watching a movie with our eyes closed.
As you share, what we are searching for has been there all the time, our selves.
There’s a new found freedom that comes with accepting life fully and as it is. It brings steadiness, connection and presence with what is in front of you right now.
It’s interesting to see the lengths that we go to In the search for joy, as you mentioned in your blog Gyl. These days we are very transportable with flights being relatively affordable, the search does lead us to move countries in this search for a ‘better’ life. Really, all we are doing is changing the scene, especially if how we are feeling at the time is not addressed. We cannot hide away from those hidden discontented emotions that keep us in the searching mode. Before we uproot ourselves and the whole family, change jobs, schools, houses and countries, the medicine of connection is needed, then assess if the move is necessary.
Great point. And in your comment Matthew I could see how I used to constantly move from one place to the other in life to ‘find me’. I think I have moved house and had more jobs in a few years than many have had in their entire life! It wasn’t until I stayed put in one place and started to make a commitment to my health, work and life that things truly started to change for me in a way that never has happened before. I am constantly inspired by Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and what they present.
Matthew I love what you have written here. How easy when things are tough is it to quit our job, or to completely cut another out of our lives. Or as you say above, completely move countries in reaction to our discontentment. What Gyl presents here is that the real thing that we feel discontent about is the lack of commitment to self. I spent most of my life in the discontentment, with this constant niggly feeling that I was more and that I could be more, but at a loss as to how to achieve this. It has only been since I have made the commitment to myself as these feelings are no longer present in my life.
“medicine of connection” love that phrase, time and time again I find that whatever issue I have going on in my life whatever emptiness, hurt, emotion etc that I go into when I come back to my connection with myself I can always detach from the issue and see not as being part of me but as something that has happened or happening and from that point begin to heal the situation
Gyl reading this blog is perfect for me right now as my commitment to self is something I have been struggling with … your transformation from uncommitted to deeply committed gives me the impetus to build the quality & presence in everything I do. I know when I am very present it makes a huge difference and feels amazing, and when I am not life feels dull and empty, and when I am in-between, my joy is inconsistent also.
Hello hartanne60 and that is simply what I took from what is a great blog, “I know when I am very present it makes a huge difference and feels amazing” So if you ‘want’ commitment or are looking for it then simply you just need to dedicate to the moment, each moment. The more moments you ‘own’ the commitment that is there.
When I reflect on your bullet points of how you are committing to life I realise how big the seemingly small things in life are. Feeling just how far I have come in taking responsibility for my own evolution by making a commitment to myself and being present in my body, loving, caring and nurturing myself. As a result I feel so much more present to listen to my body and be present and available to offer a reflection of love to others.
Gyl, this was a joy to read. To highlight all the little elements of our everyday life shows that each moment is an opportunity to commit to ourselves and thus bring that commitment and beautiful quality to life.
I agree it is all the moments, every step, every choice that counts. It is not simply a task of getting from A to B rand that being everything, rather it is about how we are when we get to B, and how we have taken every step then the quality of B is guaranteed. It is not simply a switch we can turn on and off when we feel like it.
So true James, it is a flow that builds and not a stop-start.
What is super supportive as well rosannabianchini is that the flow then propels us into the next loving choice. So as you said it builds. With each step we then have a new basis and platform we can grow and learn from.
I love your blog Gyl. It is an extremely inspiring and powerful read, thank you. I can completely relate to everything you’ve shared. Your list of how you now choose to do things is so awesome. Your blog highlights how similar we all are, how we are all searching for the same thing, Love and Joy but most of us have been searching for it everywhere else but forgetting to look for it from within. It feels like I have been misled and misguided but that was my choice to go along with it. I just simply followed what was already happening around me, feeling deep down this isn’t it but I just carried on anyway because I couldn’t see any other way. What you have shared shows us that there is another way and what I have also experienced confirms that I can stop and choose what feels true and loving every day. Everything in my life is attributed to my choices and how much I am committed to myself and to life to live fully expressing love and truth. I am still learning to fully commit to life and like Gyl shared: ‘Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.’
The blog and your comment Chan have made me stop for a moment. I was one such person who was completely committed to my lack of commitment. In other words I had made my whole life about anything and everything other than really making myself a true priority and caring for myself – and boy was I committed to this. Actually, I would go so far as to say that it takes real commitment not to commit, when you consider the consequences, the exhaustion and all of the horrible stuff that goes with it.
So when I feel and unwillingness to commit creep in, I simply recall how much I applied myself to the non-commitment, and know that if I could pour do much energy into that, then it is a very simple matter to dive into my life with joy and the absolute relish of being here. In full.
This is such a power packed article Gyl, thank you. This line “but what makes all the difference is that I am there, fully present with myself and the children.” – is just gold. It really is what makes all the difference. Being present, in full, while doing what we are doing. And how lucky are those children to have you as their teacher?!
I agree Brooke our presence is what makes all the difference to whatever it is that we are doing. And so often we can overlook this, from getting caught up in the ‘just getting things done’ mode or from not appreciating the difference we can make by how we are with people and in what we do.
Brooke and Fiona,
To let go of time pressures, jobs that need doing, other peoples pushiness. To feel all of these things, but know deeply that they can in no way affect me because I choose to be present, in full in the moment is a breath of fresh air.
I agree Fiona, appreciation is the key, appreciating ourselves for what to some may look like the simplest of things, such as going for a walk because your body feels to, taking time to prepare a nourishing meal for yourself or family, or being open and talking with someone makes a huge difference and is physically felt in your body. Each appreciation is like a new marker to move onwards. It builds love, and strength.
“I want to be with you” all ways feels like the ultimate commitment I can make to myself. The ultimate marriage and commitment to the purity of my divine essence that is me. It’s what I have always wanted and I now know in my heart it is possible thanks to Serge Benhayon, Universal Medicine and the Ancient Wisdom Teachings.
It’s such a beautiful phrase and an empowering dedication that one can havw with oneself Suzanne. The Ulimate vow to self.
That is lovely Suzanne “I want to be with you” and sums up the way I have been feeling of late, this real desire to keep it simple and still and be with me. Like you say it is exactly what I have always wanted.
It IS lovely Leighstrack. I love being with other people, joining in the conversation, or simply observing. But when I am there with myself first there is never any feeling of being less, or more than them and I can truly celebrate the occasion. Then when I leave and am on my own I celebrate that too.
I agree – I want to be with you 110% just to see what would happen, and this is truly what I have been searching for…..my own divinity, and so grand it is. I don’t think I will ever get bored of myself, just appreciate.
That is awesome, Suzanne. How often do we really consider our relationship with ourselves as being the most important one we have? And do we consider that we are worth committing ourselves to? I know that before coming to Universal Medicine this was not something that I ever even thought about. Life was something to struggle against and tame to my will, not something to bring my all to living.
This is a great way of expressing this Suzanne, we are naturally so pure that it really does not make sense to do anything that is not from our divine essence and so there is no better commitment to life then to committing to living in connection to our essence each and everyday.
I love this Suzanne and thank you for saying so. This s a commitment to be celebrated constantly to not forget and to always remember how very precious we are and that this relationship wit self is most important for all other relationships to come.
Thanks Gyl, a great read. Commitment in full is staying fully presenting in each and every moment and this commitment can only begin with our being totally committed to ourselves first and foremost. Joy and flow open up to us in the most unexpected and magical ways as we live each moment fully committed to the love that we are.
Thank you for sharing this Gyl. Committing to ourselves first and knowing that we are worth the commitment is an essential first step in committing to life. As you describe, commitment is about being fully present in what you do and not constantly looking for the next thing. I have found that when I am committed I am much more able to enjoy what I am doing and the outcomes are those that are needed.
I am not sure that I have always understood what commitment to myself means, or even if I completely understand it now. But it is definitely something I am willing to learn and to explore. Thank you Gyl for opening the discussion on how commitment to self is actually lived in normal everyday life.
“On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life”. What a life-changing moment it is Gyl, when we have this awareness and commit to making different choices and to living a different way. If we are not present with ourselves then it is so easy to put off little things to ‘later’, but later never comes. When we are fully committed to life, it has also been my experience that “life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things”. Commitment to life is commitment to making loving choices for self and others in every moment; it is about the quality and presence we bring to everything we do and to live this way is life changing.
I love the whole of this blog, thank you, a celebration of the simplicity of connection through commitment. It is “Like saying yes from our absolute fullness and meaning it,” I am feeling to say “yes” in my every day life now, through consistent commitment to being present in life and it feels amazing.
‘Commitment …it is about everything in life, no matter how big or small.’ I love this reminder Gyl and it can only come with a commitment to myself as you have expressed. My relationship with myself is always a work in progress and when I neglect her, the downward slope appears! Thank you for another great reflective piece Gyl.
Gyl it is really beautiful to feel how committing to life is so simple. Reading your commitment I can feel the depth of appreciation you have for all the ways you honor your self as you go through your day. Every moment I have presence with what is before me then the next moment flows as well, no need for thinking, no need to avoid anything.
I caught myself just today, as I was having a quick rest, imagining my life in the future and tying my happiness up in it – when I have a job and a house and my life is seemingly ‘perfect’. These ideas about happiness being something outside of us, and constantly striving for it, really kills all happiness that could be had in the present, which can be perfectly imperfect and full of joy should it be let be.
So gorgeous Rebecca – so many of us will relate to those idle daydreams of future imagined points to reach – but I can feel how much this weighs us down and totally takes away the potential wonder of the very moment we are in, as you say in all its imperfection. When we realise there really is no where to get to – and we are already all we can imagine, when we just stop and reconnect within, all the striving just melts away – the comparison goes out the window and we just set steadily about accepting what has been there all along and let it be.
I agree Kate – and how interesting is it that our whole lives are set up to stop us from ‘living in the moment’ or appreciating what we already have. We are always planning ahead, looking at magazine and adverts that tell us we need more, rather than stopping and confirming everything we have before we go about building on it or moving forward.
So true Rebecca. And I realised this can be as small and subtle as ‘looking forward’ to ‘getting through’ the housework and being able to ‘get to’ morning tea time, and not feeling our feet or hands or presence once during the whole ‘task list’ – so loosing all the quality and enjoyment that was possible, not to mention how much less truly enjoyable that ‘eventual’ tea break would be. It’s also interesting how much we re-interpret what ‘living in the moment’ truly is. There seems to be a tendency to make it about ‘hang the ‘future’, ‘live for now’ kind of throw away irresponsibility. For me living in the moment is actually deeply about the quality of presence, or care, and that it is this that will set the quality of all that we seem to be ‘going towards’. If I have taken great care of myself and been present, eaten what supports, hydrated, yesterday, it offers a foundation of wellbeing and enjoyment for each moment of today. If I lived yesterday in ‘hang the future’ – that given up self-abandonment will be more likely to repeat through future moments. The making this topsy turvy seems to be how we justify eating foods and so much more that actually don’t support us. ‘Live for now’ would once have been my justification for taking drugs…yet had I made it even fractionally about quality – the ‘come down’ and the compromised thereafter might have been future ‘now’ moments I took into account…
What a difference this could make once felt and experienced, it sure has for me, and what a gift.
Dear Gyl what a powerful blog! Thank You for being so clear and open and so committed. Truly inspiring 🙂 with love Nadine
Well said Gyl. Commitment to ourselves in the tiniest detail of our lives is where the magic starts. Work in progress making this knowledge a living wisdom in my body, but I have come on leaps and bounds from where I used to be.
’emptiness and sadness’ – this is something many of us feel but try to avoid with distractions, food, activity, anything except the stillness that will truly allow us to feel. And then of course, once we are feeling our true connection, the emptiness is no longer there.
So true Carmel. Commitment to, and connection with, ourselves fills us up like nothing else can.
I feel the change from lack of commitment in life to ever growing commitment to self is like a set of old kitchen scales. In the beginning the lack of commitment is much heavier and wins out, but after a while the joy of the commitment to self is stronger and stronger, and it moves to a much more desirable way of living.
Very encouraging to read Heather – here’s to the tipping of the scales for us all.
I love this Gyl, I felt so much joy reading everything you have written. I can relate to the exquisite transformations in your life through simply choosing to commit to being the real you within it. Commitment comes with responsibility, and amazingly, whilst most people run away from responsibility and commitment; I have found that deep down we actually love these things. Once we commit and experience how amazing it feels, it becomes easier to commit like never before.
Beautifully said Kylie, its true. I know that I was totally freaked out at the thought of taking responsibility, committing to life, but actually the more I do the more I enjoy it. It’s true, it is what we really crave for, because when we commit to ourselves it restores true purpose and fulfilment to our lives and makes every day a simply joy to live.
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ I aspire to be able to do this, consistently. Thank you Gyl for your beautiful and very insightful blog.
I am overjoyed to report Gyl, that I am beginning to experience from my body (as opposed to from my head) what you refer to as making a commitment to yourself first which in turn brings the true change and the lasting joy that we usually look outside for. And this little discovery is worth more to me than anything I have experienced in this world.
Yes Dean, same for me too. I was blown away when I realised that I had it the wrong way around as in I was looking and committing to everything outside of myself first. It was like I was choosing to walk backwards, not able to see where I was going, tripping over things, falling over and hurting myself but then getting back up and doing the same walk time and time again. And not realising, hey, how about choosing to turn around completely and walking the other way? A way that allows me to see where I am going and to see what is coming ahead. To appreciate what is ahead instead guessing and dreading it. Universal Medicine has inspired me to walk a different way, the loving way, which for me is forward and not backwards.
I Agree Dean, there is a big when we commit from our bodies and not our intellect, from our bodies we create a loving and lasting foundation that supports us to be all of who we are and not just parts of it.
I love how you have said ‘I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around.’ Funny that something so essential and necessary to support us as a foundation for every single thing we do in life, is something that we expend an enormous amount of energy avoiding, and use every hurt that comes our way as a further excuse to withdraw from that commitment even more. And yet it is the lack of commitment that allows most of the complications and dramas to develop in the first place. Gyl, you are inspiring in the reflection you bring, in your stepping into that commitment to yourself and others, – and it’s easy to feel the enormous power in what you have written as a result.
I have moments of such acute awareness and shock when I realise the energy wasted and the trouble caused (as we add to the complication and drama) simply avoiding commitment and responsibility. AND then such inspiration when I appreciate the simplicity of turning this around in the quality of my presence in the next thing I do.
Thank you Annie, this is something I’m working on daily – I am no master of commitment – yet. Though I do understand that commitment is a moment by moment choice that I have to and ‘want’ to make for myself – I am still discovering if I do not make a choice to commit to being with myself and life then I am choosing to give up and allow another energy in to run me. And that one is definitely not divine.
‘On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life’. A brilliant expression of the self-fulfilling unmerry-go-round we get trapped in when we don’t commit to ourselves fully in the first place. And this just has to be my stick-on-the-fridge-door-saying of choice: ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ As you say, it’s about the quality of our presence in each of our moments. That’s the starting point.
Thank you Gyl – you have articulated what commitment is, brilliantly. Despite working ‘hard’ all my life (since I was 11), I was actually surprised to become aware a couple of years ago that I actually had commitment issues. How you have described what true commitment is really sums up everything I have felt in this time. Even tonight, going to the shops to get food I started to go into thoughts of resentment and went to turn around to go home, but I stayed with it, and said, no this is what you are doing right now, commit to it and enjoy being in the moment with it. A world of difference which has turned my whole life around. A truly wonderful read Gyl – thank you very much 🙂
The power of one moment and the ‘turn arounds’ at our fingertips every step of the way – love this, ginadunlop, thank you.
I simply Love Commitment. I keep coming back to this blog and re-reading it and enjoying everyone’s take on this. Commitment is alive, purposeful and all-encompassing…not a speck of life is not blessed by it’s living way.
Absolutely Deborah, I love your words – Commitment is alive, purposeful and all-encompassing…not a speck of life is not blessed by it’s living way.
I agree, Deborah’s words are a blessing to read.
This is really beautifully expressed Deborah.
Commitment to me always seemed something very big and binding or limiting. I have come to learn like you Gyl, that it really is about the little things in life, my everyday choices and the quality and presence I am in in all that i do. It doesn’t bind or limit but offers an enormous amount of space and freedom instead.
It is still an ongoing development for me but I can see how making commitment something big and complicated was the perfect way to avoid it. The complication comes from my head whereas to my body commitment comes naturally, to it its nothing more then just doing it.
Well, You have just sold commitment ! How you have explained being with it sounds incredible and absolutely divine. Your examples are easy and thoughtful of everyday life- and that’s what makes it so great. There is no pushing and having to do this or that, just being 100% with care and dedication to what your doing. Very inspiring Gyl, Very inspiring indeed.
Yes Emily, I agree Gyl has taken out the pressure and stress of the word ‘commitment’. It’s not a chore, just a choice to stay present in all that we do.
I agree Emily! Gyl – it is clear that you have made a true and loving commitment to yourself and it is truly inspiring. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Commitment is taking responsibility and hence self-empowerment – to be yourself in full in life.
Beautiful Alex – and when we are not committed to ourselves in full, we have a whole array of options to fill up the void, however, none of them can ever satisfy what we desire the most – to be full of ourselves.
Commitment to myself is commitment to being present in each moment. This gives a whole new meaning to being committed and is a simple and clear picture to follow. Thank you Gyl.
Wow. Thanks Gyl. What you expressed early on, in that we constantly search for joy, say in a relationship or job or anything like that, was so true and so relevant to me. I know deeply know that just simply deepening my relationship with myself will allow amazing things to develop, knowing how awesomely grand I am to begin with (:
Committing in full is a responsibility on oneself, when we accept this responsibility, the joy and love felt is amazing. Committing to every movement and being present allows us to truly appreciate life. My experience was when I started to let go of living in the future of what tomorrow might hold. Instead started to focus on living each day, each moment, I could feel the burdens, the stresses and the worries just started to reduced. What I started to notice the joy in living in each moments was bringing opportunities and magical moments, which I would never have dreamt off.
Commitment and consistency in living with those commitments can be such a powerful combination to self fulfilment. In the past, there have been so many areas of my life that I have made commitments to, only to find them gradually slip away and become discarded whilst not completed. . . and then a new commitment is made, again and again, and so the cycle starts again. Gyl, your blog has reminded me of just how powerful consistency in making and carrying through with commitments is the foundation of builiding love, respect, honour and harmony to your life and, importantly, to your health and well-being.
I love your bullet points here Gyl, it is true how commitment to life, to self lies in all aspects of our daily life, in every detail. Compartmentalising does not work, if one aspect is in disarray or disregard then the rest suffers. If education was to embrace these principals, then our children would grow with greater purpose & appreciation for the power of self responsibility.
I like the example you give Gyl like what does commitment to self & life really mean: “If I say I will do something, committing to it and taking responsibility, not making excuses to avoid it or doing it with resentment.” This is a great one which I can implement more in my life.
Wow Gyl, this is so true, ‘In truth I was looking for something to distract me from feeling the emptiness and sadness I felt by not allowing myself the time and space to stop and feel what I was really looking for… and that was me, my connection to God, and the love that I am and feel inside of me.’ I can so relate to this, I spent so many years searching for something. i tried various sports, different jobs, different boyfriends, different new age modalities and none of them made me feel differently, i still felt empty and sad and so continued the search, until i came across Universal Medicine… now this felt different and all of a sudden life began to make sense. I started to feel the true me and started to commit to life. I have turned my life around and am amazed at how calm and content I generally feel and how much i bring to the world by simply being me.
‘The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing,…’ It’s true, when we make a true commitment, it feels light and easy and makes me wonder why I ever held back from doing so.
It makes total sense to make that commitment to ourselves. Why would we make a commitment to something or someone else without that commitment to self first?
Lack of self worth
Gyl, this is a GEM of a blog I love it, thank you so much for highlighting how awesome commitment can be, I ran from any kind of commitment for many many years and am now enjoying being here in full committing to life in the many differing ways like you mention. And thanks for the reminder there was a couple of things on that list that I need to look at… I will be booking my car to the garage later today!
Awesome Samanthaengland… I totally relate to what you share about only half committing to commitment (haha).. In some areas of my life I would pay attention, be on it, aware, focused, present, but on the other hand places like school I still used as an opportunity to just do whatever and be completely irresponsible. The result was that areas that I thought I was ‘doing well’ and ‘committing’ to, I began to slack in, and eventually the same attitude I had at school I had everywhere. What I found is that you can only be one way with everything.
“you can only be one way with everything.” I agree, it is a yes or no.
I have found in life when I have chosen to not commit in one area, then everything else goes, that includes my health, well being, thoughts, actions and words.
The difference being when I do commit to all of life, I feel full, vital, complete, energised, clear, able to work longer hours more efficiently, I feel healthy, don’t over eat and take more care of myself and am an asset to my workplace and humanity.
I have read this blog a few times as commitment is something I have always kept at arm’s-length. I have paused again at these comments by Gyl and Susie about commitment is all areas and if one lags all other area’s suffer – it is a fantastic answer for anyone that is struggling to understand life or has ever wondered why they don’t feel great more consistently. I love how this blog explores some of the many aspects of our lives to bring commitment to but I can’t get past the importance of what these important temporal commitments rest upon – our commitment to self, said so well by Gyl also in reverse“…….this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life.” With each read of this blog the title has more and more meaning – commitment to self and commitment to life are inseparable, neither can hold themselves as a true form of commitment without the other while we live in our physical world, in physical bodies.
Your list is impressive Gyl, there are lots on it that I have nailed but others that are still a work in progress. There is great joy in the ‘absolute simplicity and joy of life in full’ from just committing ones self in full.
I can relate to this Gyl Rae, avoiding committing to myself and to life. How often am I struggling with myself and life while there are as many moments when I enjoy myself and life in full without struggle and effortlessly. The difference is commitment and allowing myself to feel the authority and joy for living life in full I cary within.
Thankyou Gyl for presenting this and for the ‘commitment checklist’ that I found a rather sobering read… Where I trip up is not consistently making the everyday things joyful by being totally present in them. At times I do this but when I don’t I find that I succumb to thoughts that it is a ‘chore’ to look after my body and that there is more important things to be doing – an absolute killjoy and not true in any sense. Other times it feels I move through my day very fast in an effort to avoid pausing and looking deeply at what I do and how I do it.
When we live the fullness of our true selves in every moment, there is simply no room for what is not true to worm its way in and leave us feeling stressed, anxious, depressed or exhausted. This is indeed a recipe for joy, its main ingredient is commitment.
I agree Liane, in all truth something I am working on each day. There are still times I freak out and want to run a mile from commitment or so I believe but deep down my body is saying otherwise. When I go into a ‘chore’ mode in comes the resentment and I’m gone, life becomes about function, do I have to do that, and there is no quality, love or joy and defiantly no commitment. I also can relate to the ‘looking after your body’ for me this lies with deep care, I fight this at times and think I’ll bury myself deeper with other stuff to avoid feeling how much I actually do love and want to take care of my body. What I have also observed it the recklessness I can move around in, the lack or care at times, this can be big or small, even down to how I prepare food, set the space to eat, bring a cushion through to sit on if a chair is hard, even down to how I choose to email, then words I use and the care I hold the other person and myself in as I write.
And yes in our fullness there is no room for anything else but truth and love. Anxiousness, doubt, and all the others forms of abuse do not even cross my mind or enter my body.
To commit to oneself first and from this place to all the little or big duties and challenges of life brings true joy. I learn this more and more.
Great blog. “…all they did was distract me with moments of excitement, happiness, sadness, recognition, acceptance, complication, numbness or obsession, all to avoid feeling what was really going on”. It’s crazy to think of all that we do in order to not feel ourselves. I’ve found that in particular in the past, that seeking relationships with attractive people was a way I tried to up-my-self-worth; all so false. As each external ‘go-to’ or behaviour is broken down, less need is truly evident making way for a more wholesome self.
Dear Oliver, it is amazing to feel the huge levels of distraction we go to to avoid the inevitable – that is to feel everything and be aware of everything and evolve.
Gyl your blog brings a deeper understanding to the term ‘commitment to life’, something I always associated with getting in and getting things done that need doing. I have come to understand there is the whole element of what we are bringing to what needs doing that is equally important. I can relate to a number of areas you outlined that can still do with quite some refining, and can see that it’s very easy to guage my level of commitment if I use your list as a check.
I agree Jenny, I have tended to just get things done and not stopped to check the quality I am doing them in, or the quality I am in myself. This makes a huge difference. There is no in between.
It all begins with the commitment to self and building a foundation of love in the body, without this, we have little to stand on. Self-care is vital to the integrity of everything that we do and it is in the very simple everyday ways we live with ourselves. Gyl, I love reading your blogs, you make this feel so accessible and the truth you write is very relatable and real.
Mathew I agree through very practical steps Gyl has shown an example of a way of building commitment to self and to life. What stands out to me is how simple choices make such a difference, by making lots of small choices we find big changes take place. I’ve also found for myself the word commitment means something different to me today than it did 10-15 years ago and that is goes hand in hand with other words like responsibility and love.
Beautifully said Matthew. Building a foundation of love in the body is important. Otherwise we just tick the boxes..
Thank you Mathew and I couldn’t agree more “It all begins with the commitment to self and building a foundation of love in the body, ” and self care – if this is not there then the foundations wobble, which I have learnt and am learning everyday for myself. For me it has to be practical, honest and REAL, otherwise from experience I have found we end up living not the truth but an ideal.
Yes, to all you said here Matthew, especially Gyl’s accessible, relatable and real writing style. I love reading them too.
I have noticed self-care is vital for commitment too as it brings vitality. It means I have the energy to be focused, to move with presence and quality whereas when I am tired I start to make what I am doing about getting it done and my body has to harden and brace as it can’t trust the quality of my movements. My movements when I am tired even become mechanically unsound, cutting corners and putting strain on my muscles and joints. There is much to be said about what drains vitality and gets in the way of commitment but the most important part starts with what you already wrote Matthew ‘it is in the very simple everyday ways we live with ourselves.’
When we commit to life in full, something I still don’t do this 100%of the time but when I do life just flows with everything falling into place, work, home life, friends, time stands still with no feeling of pressure to achieve anything it all just flows with a feeling of lightness and ease. Commitment to myself and my ongoing evolution and commitment to god.
Gyl Rae, this is a tremendous blog, thank you for sharing your mastery of commitment. For me commitment was always about shuffling priorities, if I commit to this I cant do that as well. You have made me realize my approach to commitment is upside down. When I have committed to self first it is easier to remain focused and committed to whatever else I am doing without distraction. When I have been working without distraction, I have more energy in the day so I can do more.
Yes it is about committing to one thing at a time in full presence and that starts with self. Committing to being in my body and choosing the energy that allows my thoughts.
You make an exposing point Bernard Cincotta about how we are taught to manage life by managing our priorities. When we live this way whether deliberately choosing our priorities or not we do end up living priorities and as you say it becomes about what gets done and what does not and it has little to do with commitment. To me you blow living this way out of the water when you bring in the words focus vs distraction. The connection between starting with a commitment to your quality and presence, then committing to the activity with focus and without distraction tells me so much about bringing commitment to all areas of my life equally. Thanks.
The essence of what you are saying Gyl is very important and I feel there is still a deeper level of simplicity it can be taken to, so everyone can really understand it. If it is not something outside ourselves that can bring true change, what is it within us? How do we connect with ourselves in a way where all the dot points you mention become a natural way to live and not a check list of to do’s that we externalise yet again? It feels important to just express, the connection to ourselves that offers this way of living, is super simple. As one of many world wide students of Universal Medicine, I appreciate so much what has been presented by Serge Benhayon from the outset, as his way of living, that there is an amazing source of strength, power, light, love and joy within each and every one of us to connect with. It was this first super important, essential point that opened me up to exploring further.
Like you Simon, the first super important point that was presented by Serge Benhayon that opened me up, was also something I knew, but was not living was; I am enough exactly who I am and everything I need is within me’. This led to the slow process of beginning to ‘trust’ myself, and from the new foundation of trusting , I began to appreicate myself, to adore and love myself. Yes, it has changed my life.
What I am finding is that once I commit to something then I need to be consistent in that commitment. Committment and consistency are great companions.
mmm…. yes I am learning this is the key, I am an all or nothing kinda gal, so it’s committing to that consistency that my body so loves. Consistency builds trust, in yourself but also when people feel your consistency they trust you.
Gyl, I love your revelation about commitment to life being more than just showing up and ticking the boxes, but the actual quality you do things in and your commitment to being totally present with whatever you are doing.
Yes Katemaroney1, commitment is also to self, the quality we do things in and our commitment to being totally present with whatever we are doing, and as Gyl shared, ‘What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?’ Absolutely.
Gyl this is a fantastic blog – this line cracked both me and Simon up ‘Opening letters and not just putting them away in drawers – usually bank statements.’
Because it is something that we both do! I love that you used a very specific example like this because it was able to speak directly to me. I also love your list of all the things you looked for outside of yourself– the new age etc — that list in itself is revelatory as you pin down every different distraction people go to.
It’s true! I bet, there are thousands of people who do this. I found more today from years ago when clearing out a drawer in my room … I am taking great joy and pleasure in opening them, getting the shredder out and committing to not holding onto stuff I no longer need from years, or what feels like lifetimes ago. My room also feels less stuffy and heavy as does my head!
I also have felt how much it helps (me and others I am sure) to put everything in its place in the house, that simple movement brings so much clarity and joy. And it requires commitment to myself, in the sense of what physical environment I choose to live in, and now i choose one that is in order, tidying up is commitment, a daily one, clearing up those drawers, instead of a burden, a joy of letting go and keeping the necessary.
I like your comment Rebeccabaldwincreative as I find that we are all always – exposing factors in our way of living that needs addressing. What an amazing support to have articles such as these to bring about more clarity in our day and the way we live each day.
Great Rebecca to own up to this with humour, I used to do the same. Opening bank and credit statements is like confronting yourself.- all there to see. So much easier to hide them away. Im loving the energy that comes with opening bank statements first, dealing with them quickly, then resting easy. Simple.
Great Rebeccabaldwincreative for owning up to this with humour, I used to do the same. Opening bank and credit statements is like confronting yourself.- all there to see. So much easier to hide them away. Im loving the energy that comes with opening bank statements first, dealing with them quickly, then resting easy. Simple.
Thanks Gyl, I really liked this “For example when I go for a walk, I am walking with me, not planning my day or thinking about everything else;” This is something I still get distractions with – however the ‘walking program’ with the Men’s group is certainly bringing this into focus. Instead of seeking to have the ‘outside in’ we can have the ‘inside out’ (Good Disney movie by the way – ‘inside out’ is a great conversation starter) about how we truly feel.
I agree Andrew. The commitment to walking with myself is a challenge for me. I am often planning my life or loosing myself in my thoughts and end up not realising how far or how long I have been walking for. When I am able to commit to walking for me I am much more present in what I am doing.
Commitment to self ,to life is a huge awareness to come to, Thank you Gyl I love how you share ‘What if it was about making that commitment to self first that then brought the true change and lasting joy that we so long for and seek?’ This is so true and it is the little things we do that brings the joy and most especially our amazing purpose to live who we truly are in every moment in our life.Quality and presence in fully being me in my day is my choice and is working progress lovingly.Thank you Gyl for sharing such a beautiful blog.
I agree. The little things are so important. If I commit in all the many little aspects of my life I find that I build a foundation of commitment. It is then easy to commit to things that feel bigger. The opposite is also true, I have found that when I am avoiding committing to the little things it is harder to commit to the bigger things.
Yes it is kinda of humorous really… searching the globe for what is simply and yet profoundly a breath away – self – service in the truest sense.
There is a profound difference when we commit to be all that we are in the moment. And there is a natural honouring and wisdom that comes with this commitment. I have found that disharmonious and unloving choices become apparant and naturally start to fall off without much of a struggle, because I start to feel and understand that such choices are not supportive to what I have committed to. Lack of care sabotages our ablity to be and express our fullness.
I so agree with you Golnaz. Yesterday evening I felt to finish off the day by quietly reading a book but instead I got sucked in to watching TV. It left me feeling compromised like I’d missed a lovely opportunity to connect with myself and round off a lovely day. Not only that, it left me feeling disconnected this morning so I feel like I will have to re-build for a couple of days and will have to spend extra special care with my presence today to get back on track. This certainly was not supportive to what I have committed to and I know that I will absolutely not be doing the same thing again for a long, long time. I certainly feel like I have sabotaged my ability to be and express in my fullness – there is less of me here this morning.
I like the distinction you make between having commitment to what you ‘do’ with committing to ‘how you are in whatever you do’ Gyl. This makes it easier for me to choose commitment in the first instance as a quality. It means I do not have to stop doing things, or take up doing even more activities in my days. Rather see commitment as changing Me in what I do and seeing how then that changes what the activities look like. Baby steps at first.
Yes, Suzanne, as you say it’s about the quality in which we do things. I can feel more clearly after reading your comment that the actual commitment is in how do the things that we already do, the feeling and the motion we are holding in our body as we do each and everything that we do, and our responsibility is in being aware of that which we are holding in our bodies at any given moment.
It is so true that we are almost never content – our happiness is always tied up in the future – a job, friendship, partner, clothes or holiday. However, the saying ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is all too true – you cannot gain joy or happiness from anything outside of you.
In the process of connecting to and redeveloping a relationship with my body, commitment is a powerful key. When I retreat to my mind and live life from there I can easy fall into old patterns of doubt and giving up. Committing to myself and being present in all that I do and living with my body leaves no holes for these patterns to come in. A great work in progress and this blog is very supportive.
Ahh Gyl. This was such a great thing for me to read this morning. Very poignant and just what I needed.
THANKYOU!!!
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’
Gyl this is huge. I can feel the quality of my relationship with life build by practising this one key principle. Staying completely present is commitment in full.
Gyl, reading your blog I could feel the self love and strength committing brings to our life’s. It gave me a sense of fullness and even joy. It allowed me to feel that commitment is an ingredient in life we would be crazy not to embrace.
I too used to avoid committing to life like a plague and was very happy cruising through life living in comfort and not going anywhere, The moment I chose to start committing to life and me my life changed dramatically and the more I commit to the quality that I bring into everything that I do it gets better and better. Thanks Gyl , for such awesome writing.
Gyl, I like how you have presented that joy is at our fingertips. We don’t need to wait for our next fix or to achieve the next goal on the horizon, just commit to fully being with ourselves.
I can really see how much I have also not wanted to be fully committed in everything that I do so there is an excuse for why I am not happy. If I don’t not fully commit I can make excuses as to why I’m not being satisfied and feeling joyous within my days. But as you said here Gyl, it is the exact thing that leaves me feeling empty. I have noticed over the past week where I am committing more and more within my life and my work place the more beauty-full I am feeling and the more joyful and content than I have ever been within my life. It is truly amazing and this comes with a whole new level of commitment to myself, within my work, within my exercise and commitment to feeling how I am in my body and truly honouring that first and for most! Over everything, because it is our bodies that we must honour for us to feel beautiful, light, lovely, knowing, joy etc
This is still something in development for me BUT I can certainly feel your lightness and joy and bounce with this Gyl. Thank you for sharing your joy!
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” Beautiful expressed thank you Gyl!
So true Gyl, we underestimate what commitment to self and to life can bring to us and how enriching it is for our lives.
I agree Judith when you say ‘…we underestimate what commitment to self and to life can bring to us …” I felt the key word here was ‘under-estimate’ – and I am learning how often it has been in the past where I have not seen the true value of the choice to ‘commit’ in full to something – but now, I can more appreciate the deep worth and value of commitment to self and to life – for me it feels more like a true and heartfelt connection to our innate beauty and purpose for actually being here at this time. I doubt I would have had this understanding if I had not chosen to be a student of the Way of the Livingness.
Beautifully expressed Roberta, ‘a heartfelt connection to our inate beauty and purpose for actually being here at this time’. And like you I would not also have this understanding had I not become a student of the Way of the Livingness.
Yes, the commitment to self is the foundation to living life to the fullest.
Agree Judith, it’s the simple commitment to ourselves first that can change so many things. I know when I have felt overwhelmed or exhausted it is because I have not been choosing to make simple practical commitments to myself. When I do this, everything becomes very simple and clear.
The joy I feel when I read this blog says everything about your commitment Gyl to yourself and to life. The little things in life are so worth committing to and to appreciate, I am experiencing this every day when I make the choice to be with me and to be fully present.
Your blog is very powerful, beautifully detailed (great list of colorful examples) and brings more awareness for me to the connection of my commitment to life, bringing the true quality of me and being/doing it with full responsibility. I love your sentence: “I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around. On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life” – this enlightens a pattern I have and brings me even more awareness to the fact that acceptance is an essential section of the foundation for commitment to life. Thank you Gyl.
Thank you for this powerful yet honest blog! It was so good& practical to read as I have struggled with commitment.
A great article Gyl, ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ This is so beautifully written. I notice at work how lovely, easy and flowing work is and how connected i am with people when I’m present and how if i go off into my head thinking i make mistakes and notice that I’m not there with my client but miles away.
Powerful Gyl! I loved your phrase: “commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” So true! I can always feel the difference in my work and my body when I have brought quality to it. Quality brings a deliberate rhythm and flow – the result being that I am acutely present, sharp and more productive. I have re-developed a relationship with the word ‘commitment’ also making it my new best friend! But like all things it takes practice.
That’s it Donna, quality of presence, sharp, engaged and productive.
Gosh, thank you Gyl! Funny enough I put off reading this blog – when it is in fact all that I needed. I needed to commit to reading it as a starting point. “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full”- I like what you have said here, as you expose that the ideal that commitment is hard, dreary or dreadful is false. When, in fact, when we feel true commitment and are with ourselves in full – it feels joy-full and light = AGREED!
I do love the way we dance about to avoid reading the things that bring us a deeper understanding of ourselves and our relationship to life. I am learning, slowly, that the things I least want to do are offering something, and that something is likely to be rather grand.
Hi Rachel, i am with you on this one too – it is for me the things I avoid that is where I really need to look at even if it makes me squirm – for that is where the magic happens and true growth – it’s stepping out that comfort zone and honestly assessing, taking stock and looking at what’s not worked for eons and changing it, no big deal, simple really, so what is it about us that keeps choosing it?
I am dipping my toes in that discomfort, more and more so. My mind has every trick in the book, every sneaky excuse to try to stop me even taking my shoes and socks off! It comes up with reasons to not have confidence in myself. It also throws in the very compelling and believable thoughts of how complicated it will all be.
Just obstructing the purity of committing to life before all else, and letting life flow from that.
Oh I love this Rachel Mascord “the things I least want to do are offering something, and that something is likely to be rather grand.” This is something for me to consider in my days. Would that mean University is also offering something grand? haha Yes, commitment to life and people…an opportunity to bring you to anything you do.
I am laughing at that comment Arianne. Having just kicked, screamed and resisted my return to university I am back and thoroughly enjoying what it is offering me by way of evolution and what I am offering it in return.
We need to talk! haha. I feel I am resisting my return, but it is in fact resisting my next point of evolution like you say – to surrender and bring me to whatever it is I choose to commit to. And if it is Uni – well then it is Uni.
It is just another place on this earth hungry for your gorgeous light and love – even if it is not quite sure yet that beauty is what it is craving! Just feed it with your presence…eventually it will start to know what it is getting from you…
Oh just divinely beautiful, and thank you for the confirmation. You’re bringing it back to basics! 🙂 …the basics we are/were never taught from the system as it strayed from true teaching and intelligence. Instead we are bringing back true intelligence…that being that the way we live and the knowledge we learn must always be in balance. I felt quite out-of-balance this last year…striving for results and not truly having a solid rhythm at home. This is something to learn…and I love that what you present is that: We must value what we bring, and who we are before we learn otherwise we are completely owned by that identity.
I realised I had been putting things off and subconsciously or very quietly there was a voice saying “you/I’m not good enough to do that”…how crazy is that to clock what is actually going on! A seeming undercurrent of lack of self-worth? Or was it just that it was something I had not done before and thought I could not? Well, I have been putting some effort in to commit to things that I have felt are true – and my life is changing, and these before ‘foreign’ things, are slowly becoming a natural and equally essential part in support me and my expression in my day. And in turn I am beginning to confirm how much I truly love life, myself and people…which was there all along waiting to be embraced.
“The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength”- it feels very empowering and brings purpose to life.
What an amazing blog Gyl. Your honesty is so refreshing and clear.
Gyl I love this – there is lots in here to commit to 🙂 I love what happens to your life when you begin to commit first to one area then another and another its a development that brings our glory out into the world.
Connecting to, and taking note of, the details that my body naturally tells me has been hugely revealing and also immensely rewarding. I am far more empowered to receive, recognise and reflect on what it is I need to do.
I agree Jenny. Allowing my body to guide me has been so revealing and supports me in every moment. Staying connected is key.
Beautifully said Jenny. The sweetness and delicateness of your commitment to having an intimate relationship with your body is deeply felt.
Great stuff Gyl…the real stuff of life. I can relate to every word. I was constantly on the back foot, doing things too late, like booking the car for a major repair after I had oil problems for 3 months. It is so draining being constantly carrying around problems that you haven’t dealt with …no wonder there is no energy to get committed.
In commitment we are engaged, and living from the front foot, always looking for what is needed, and even to what may be needed, but with no anxiousness or dread.
Love this Rachel Mascord, and here’s to living from the front foot! As someone who was constantly reacting from the back foot I can really relate to this and how commitment means that we anticipate what may be needed and respond.
I don’t know if you experienced the same Helen, but I used to find myself sliding further and further back on that back foot…
…and I still catch myself plenty of times letting things go, but the great thing is that now I just get on with it and clear the slate so that I am responsive to life again.
Beautiful Rachel, you have just given me another perspective on commitment. Looking to what may be needed and responding, rather than leaving things to become a drain on our energy. Living from the front foot….now that’s commitment.
I was like that in relationships, never fully committed to being with the person or myself. Committing in full is something I am working on and it has to start with making a greater commitment to self.
It is also about letting go of the fear of making mistakes. I suspect a great deal of our withholding comes from a hesitancy about getting it wrong…making a fool of ourselves…and the big killer…fear of getting hurt.
In that tentative state we are plugging up our energy and not letting it flow from our body in its gorgeous fullness. It makes no sense really.
Hi Rachel, I feel the fear of mistakes can often come from school, this is not solely to blame nor to take away from our responsibility from loving ourselves and the truth we are all perfect simply for being ourselves – but at the same time there is a big thing in schools with mistake making, though they are working on getting kids to see mistakes as a good thing. But you can see it in kids bodies when they come to show you their work, there is fear in them of it’s wrong, their bodies tense up, they look worried at what you might say. This also exposes the approval that we can often seek from others or outside ourselves, that what we do. say etc is okay, because we have given up on ourselves and the fact we are love, – instead of saying no, hey I did this so it’s gonna be awesome, and if there is something to learn here too, thats okay.
This is great to read Gyl. It is very interesting to read that schools are working on changing the perception of mistakes – but how deep is it going? Sometime there are nice ideas that we introduce but sometimes go no deeper than lip service. I can recall being told that mistakes are the only way to learn by a person who would freak out if a mistake was made! For that sort of change to be true and lasting it has to be far more than skin deep and preferably founded on deep love.
I agree Rachel, there are many solutions used in schools, which whole authorities get behind and champion as the next big thing in education. The new buzz words or programs such as growth mindset, which on the surface may look like they work but in truth they change nothing, as their foundation is not built on love. You can feel it when you hear or read the words used in these programs – it’s not about people at all. What I also feel is how much the education system complicates things when life is and can be very very simple – Make it about people and love first.
I like the idea of commitment being what ever we are doing. It is simple and it is either all of us or not all of us. There is something that each moment can teach us. I have to be the one that is willing to switch it ON and deal with whatever has come up or I can not switch it on and it will come up again. its my choice. I can say what I really feel and make a moment something its never been been before, all of me. Trusting my essence is the key and I don’t worry about all of the details, I just have to not hold back and it will all be amazing.
And amazing that comment was Harry, you pointed out how easy commitment can be if we trust and choose to bring all of us.
As you so simply explain here Gyl, commitment is living with the daily things in life and honouring what we feel. You make it sound very achievable and worthwhile.
Commitment to life is definitely about how you are in it. Connecting to each moment of activity and how you are with people. Committing to living truly who you are as a person.
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full” …. this is so gorgeous Gyl.
I agree Maree… this is so gorgeous and simple. How often to we get tangled in a web when we try to multi task and our heads are on what is next rather than what is now? We end up not completing anything well and I know from experience how much of a muddle and stress I get into. But when I focus on the moment I am in everything flows and works beautifully. I stay calm and balanced.
Commitment in the little things goes a long way. I like your bullet point list there are some great reminders for me in there, thanks Gyl.
What I understand from this article is that commitment has something to do with presence. Being present in what I do is the marker for how committed I am.
Yes and its a marker that you cannot run from. I can say that I am very committed and then find myself distracted 100 times in doing 1 thing and I go..mmm…maybe not as committed as I initially thought 🙂 it can be very exposing to see how much you can check out. But the trick is not to give yourself a hard time about it and just see it and with love and care bring yourself back to what you are doing. Even if I do that 100 x’s a day.
Great summary Felix. This is my understanding too and I can feel immense power and stillness in the word now, rather than a pressure or obligation.
When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full. I love this Gyl, you have summed it up exactly.
Thank you Gil, I know it is a very small thing but when you say “say no when I mean no and say yes when I mean yes” that is gold! I have so often said yes when I should have said no because I didn’t want to miss out or let anyone down, and no when I should have said yes because I felt intimidated or not good enough in some way. It is not about overdoing either but simply about honouring what you feel in the moment.
Oh! Not so small Lucy. Again, I can relate to what you are saying all too well. The mouth saying “yes” when every other part of the body is saying (and often screaming) “no” is a significant problem. Same when it is reversed. It creates so much inner tension and conflict and really drains us. For me, it also means that we are not fully participating in life with all of our being.
I also know this well Rachel, and there is no difference in how my body feels. Saying no or yes when coming from a lack is absolutely draining. Each day I’m noticing more and more what drains and what doesn’t.
Yes Lucy, honouring and speaking what one feels in the moment simplifies life a great deal.
This is a very potent point to add Lucy, I agree.
I agree Lucy, that advice is gold! I can totally relate to having said yes or no many times when I would have said the opposite if I had really honoured what I was feeling! And I can see how it’s not about making someone agree with your answer, the yes or no, but just claiming it and saying it because that’s what feels true to you.
Yes and no; it cannot be any simpler. Indecision is horrible. I have to tell myself to make my choice and stick with it 100% If it is not the right choice, I will find out earlier, if I never commit, I never learn.
Gold in deed Lucy! I know that for me this has been a huge thing to change. How can I commit to life, that is live the truth of me each day, when I say yes to something that is really a no for me?
My own commitment to self, and thus to life is a continual work in progress… a few of the things on your bullet list stood out to me as points to consider more fully! I need to get my wheel alignment checked on my car yet I’ve allowed this to be delayed! Reading your blog has inspired me to book the car and get this done! Thank you for sharing, it is inspiring towards consistency and attention to detail… the little things are equally important too!
Before I came to the teachings and presentation of Universal medicine I was searching for more meaning in life as many of us do. What I came to learn is that the escape from life I was looking for in the career changes I made and the lifestyle choices I indulged in was not what it is really about. I found it is about that commitment to life and to every moment, I am glad I came to understand that life is better when we apply ourselves, as I have found my life far more enjoyable when I have put effort in to doing things will full commitment and realise that life is not lived as some utopia but will always have challenges.
Gyl when I read your line ‘this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life’ made me consider how I used to live. I was a yoga teacher who read a lot of books on spirituality, did lots of workshops and even ran some myself. I would have sworn on the bible that I was super committed to myself and to life and yet now, having done many workshops with Universal Medicine I know that although I was definitely committed, I was committed with and to the type of energy that never allowed my to really commit to either myself or indeed life. The whole thing was a smoke screen.
That’s an amazing revelation, Alexis, and one I relate to also- that we can be committed to a type and quality of energy that prevents us from being committed to our very own selves! We are going nowhere when that foggy path is walked.
As presented by Universal Medicine, our first commitment is to ourselves – not to avoiding ourselves.
Beautiful Gyl. Committing to you in full and the quality in which you live.
Beautiful blog Gyl, commitment to myself and to life and building consistency with it is key for me at present. I just loved reading all of your points and getting a clearer understanding. It’s in the simple things of everyday that consistently present themselves at every opportunity, offering us the choice: to commit or not. What a beautiful process.
Yes consistency is what builds that quality of presence Jeanette, and it is something I am working on each day. To be consistently present with whatever I am doing in that moment. I love the simplicity of this, and the benefit – no stress builds up in my head.
“There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full.” What a powerful sentence Gyl, commitment to self, decreasing self-doubt and anxiousness. With the dramatic increases in anxiety today what you have presented offers a way forward for many who suffer from anxiety and self doubt. Thank you.
Thank you Caroline. The rise of anxiety and stress in the world is rife today, with people constantly doubting themselves and the power they have within. It is true the more present I am in my body, the more commitment I have to myself and each thing I do, and as I go about my day, the less anxiousness and stress is there and less self doubt. A great tool I have found to support this is the Gentle Breath Meditation http://www.unimedliving.com/meditation/free/meditation-for-anxiety-and-stress/beating-anxiety-gentle-breath-meditation.html and also being really honest.
Absolutely, and it’s that honesty I so loved in your blog. I agree the Gentle Breath Meditation is an amazing tool for support with stopping, feeling and truly being present. Thank you for the link here.
HI gylrae, over the last few years I’v really noticed how when I doubt myself it then leads to low self confidence, which then leads to an inability to think that I am capable of doing the set task which then leads to intense anxiety and stress. I have learnt from a very wise philosopher that anxiety is not feeling like you are equipped to deal with whatever situation is in front of you. Since starting to not look outside myself for recognition and knowing that I am a lovely women from inside out, inspired by the teachings of Universal Medicine, my anxiety has dropped significantly and I am now living more lovingly and more preciously and delicately and JOYFULLY than I have in years/my whole lifetime. It is truly something so wonderful to be learning… to live the joy we naturally are on the inside and not look outside ourselves for any form of stimulation or recognition… knowing and learning that we have everything we need from our own quality and bringing this to the world in each moment! And this is what will bring true joy! Its incredible to be starting to truly live this.
This is really gorgeous and supportive to read Natasha, ‘ I have learnt from a very wise philosopher that anxiety is not feeling like you are equipped to deal with whatever situation is in front of you. Since starting to not look outside myself for recognition and knowing that I am a lovely women from inside out, inspired by the teachings of Universal Medicine, my anxiety has dropped significantly’, anxiety and not thinking that I am equipped to deal with the situation have been huge for me in the past, I love what you have written about knowing you are a lovely woman, I am starting to feel the same about myself, it is great to read your comment and know where the anxiousness comes from and how to deal with it.
Great comment Caroline and I agree, commitment to life, to our true quality brings with it much healing.
It is as simple as that – the moment we step away from the simplicity of what we feel – we knowingly create complication.
Beautifully expressed Gyl. Your commitment is deeply felt through this entire blog in all its power, grace and glory. Inspirational – thank you. I have discovered how developing my commitment to self, God and life has depended my appreciation of how divinely connected we are with all and everything that we do.
As a wise man once said to me, how can we be committed to life if we are not at first committed to ourselves.
Yes Adam we easily overlook our commitment to ourselves, thinking that we need to put others first. I am realising how important it is to commit to me first. A well looked after me is going to be more able to help others than a tired, grumpy me.
I know that wisdom too, Adam and it has brought life back to an otherwise existence.
Reading this really helped me Adam, thank you 😀
Awesome blog, Gyl, – the quality of my presence and commitment to myself when reading your blog grew as I read it. Beautiful reflections. Commitment to self and subsequently to life is what it’s all about. There’s no limit, one can always go deeper. Very inspiring, thank you.
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full”
Beautifully expressed Gyl; your blog is very inspirational and full of wisdom.
Yes, I agree Shirl. We can choose to attend to what needs to be attended to on time and have it well planned out, but it is the ‘bringing of Quality of presence to that very moment’ that is absolute commitment to self and commitment to life.
A beautiful reminder Gyl that true change happens by first commiting in full to the “…quality and presence I am in.”
In the past I have had difficulties with decision making; always concerned that I would make the wrong choice or that I am missing out on something better. That has really shifted in me as I have committed more to life and by applying some of the tools that you have suggested in this blog. Now my relationship with decision making is completely different. I stop, pause, feel my body, run with what feels right and then commit fully to it.
What a wonderfully succinct and inspirational process Donna, I love it!
Great to read right now, as I am finding myself full of indecision, and am allowing my indecision to cause anxiousness and distraction. I love how these blogs provide such wisdom for us to make better choices. Having read this blog, and your comment Donna I am going to shift my focus away from my decision and onto how I am living day by day.
I love that Donna – i never felt the relationship between indecisiveness and committment to life like you have explained here — but it is so obvious! Thanks for sharing.
I have also struggled a lot in making decisions, big ones or small ones, (sometimes getting stuck in tiny decisions like what to wear and finally not go to the party exhausted with the decision-making process, or take a long time and exhaust my friends and the waiter trying to choose a food at a restaurant like it was the end of the world). When I do what you say in your comment, stop and feel my body, how easy it is!, no thinking helps, because in the end I have to feel it and go with what my body says. No matter how many hours I spend thinking about it, going around the many implications of all the possible choices, in the end I have to feel and go with my body, and it is the most simple way and usually the way to go forward to the best possible outcome. And then everything seems to fall into place.
I love your comment Donna, we don’t need days of pondering and wondering what decision to make. True, we feel, we make the decision and go for it. Even if it ends up differently or it needs adjusting or something else, that is fine too. Then we had a great learning experience and we take that into our next moment….
When I look at the bullet points of ‘how to’ I can appreciate that I have already incorporated many into my life, but there are a couple I’m still stuck on.
* Being in a job fully present, not looking for another job or wanting to be somewhere else.
* Going to bed when my body feels tired, not staying up “just another five minutes”.
I’ve noticed how easily I will do something for or with someone else, but not for myself, I delay – ‘Oh I’ll do those exercises/go for a walk tomorrow’ and then tomorrow never comes. (This wasn’t a bullet point but it is one of the things I am addressing)
I am never sure I’m in the right job – I’ve spent my life hopping from job to job, never truly settling, except when I ran my own business for 18 years. Now, as an employee, I still feel unsettled. Being fully present in whatever I am doing feels like the way to be.
And as for going to bed – checking emails or social media is an absolute no-no – easy to do and I can waste valuable sleeping time then end up getting up later the next morning because I’m tired. I know many men and women who work tirelessly from dawn to dusk and that is down to their consistent daily rhythm and self-commitment.
Awesome honesty Carmel Reid. What I feel underneath all that you have expressed and I can relate to it too, is the commitment to self – to appreciate and trust that what is needed is our surrender to the grander love we are part of. Commitment follows this like night and day. It is our natural way.
Thank you Carmel, I was really inspired by what you said: “I know many men and women who work tirelessly from dawn to dusk and that is down to their consistent daily rhythm and self-commitment.” These people are true inspiration and showing us all the way we can be with ourselves and with life. Onward I (we) go to committing to ourselves and life in full. Rather than making it so unnecessarily hard for ourselves!
I love the detail of your list of commitment to life, and to yourself. It gives me lots of ideas, things that I procrastinate (what an awful word, it even sounds nasty)…I have recently experienced the joy of getting a table and chairs in my car as part of my moving house, and how lovely it feels when one lets go of the resistance and enjoys the building of a nest without the heaviness of the pressures, and just doing what is needed trusting that everything will work out. It feels like coming out of a tunnel. I start to feel the beauty again. When I resist commitment, there is struggle everywhere, in everything and everyone. When I commit, the path is open to possibilities again, and I find beauty, kindness and joy all around me.
I have moved several times over the last 6 years and I have always hated the experience. I’ve worried about it for weeks in advance and approached the whole thing with a ‘its going to be a struggle’ attitude. My body has been tensed even before the day and my face almost fixed in an unpleasant frown. My most recent move was 3 months ago and I can say that because I had a different attitude to the move, it flowed and was just so effortless. As you say ‘doing what is needed trusting that everything will work out’ without any anticipation.
Golden words juliamanbos and sooo true for me also! “When I resist commitment, there is struggle everywhere, in everything and everyone. When I commit, the path is open to possibilities again, and I find beauty, kindness and joy all around me.”
Another great piece of writing Gyl, and I love how you bring such love and understanding to what commitment to self and life really looks like on a daily basis. Very inspiring, very supportive and very practical. Awesome in fact!
It gets interesting once we have successfully committed to self and our life has improved out of sight. The next step is to commit to life and to be all of who you are with others and in your work and the quality of your work.
What is going on in one’s life is a direct reflection of the level of commitment that one lives with. Many of us coast along in comfort, as I have done and still do in some respects. Commitment is the antidote that heals the aeons old pattern of staying in our comfort zones. It calls us to live who we are, which is never defined but constantly being revealed.
Jinya I like your comment where you say we are constantly being revealed to ourselves if we step out of our comfort zones. Its true that when I try something new, that I’ve maybe avoided for any manner of reasons, I can sometimes surprise myself that I did it, and then wonder why I held back and what all the fuss was about.
This is so true Jinya. Coasting in comfort is not truly living. Commitment is the antidote.
I agree Jinya, it’s great antidote to comfort. if we don’t live who we are, we create no foundation for the next part of our potential to be revealed.
Jinya I also love what you say about us ‘never being defined but constantly revealed.’ Like when we choose to develop our connection to ourselvea we’re never confined but constantly evolving. Choosing the comfort of sticking with the familiar no matter how uncomfortable or drama filled that familiar maybe, is so dull and dulling.
I love what you say here Jinya ‘It calls us to live who we are, which is never defined but constantly being revealed.’ If we commit to life in full then we commit to whatever is needed in each moment. This means that we are forever developing and evolving therefore there can never be a ‘getting there’ or ‘got it’. This fully exposes comfort as the red herring that it is.
“It calls us to live who we are, which is never defined but constantly being revealed.” Committing to life has no expectations, no dreams or end goals in sight, there is no longer a need for control, for the joy of committing to and being present with ourselves is enough.
Reading your blog Gyl I can feel the absolute lightness and joy of commitment. Thank you.
Great point Jane176, Commitment has been bastardised and now we are seeing the return of true commitment and what that looks like and feels like from those who are choosing to live a fully committed way.
It is true Gyl that when we fully commit to something it feels light and joyful, not full of heaviness or dread as we can tend to believe it will be.
And with this commitment an unending purpose that propels us forward…to commit more deeply to ourselves and to life.
This is so true Rebecca. If we come back to our bodies it will always tell us how we are faring. If we fully commit our body will respond to this commitment. I find that I have so much more energy when I commit to somethign, it is like the energy just appears from no where. If I am indecisive, I find that I feel drained and tired.
Growing up I heard the word commitment many times in my life and it used to make me want to run a mile. But, it wasn’t until I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine that I understood what commitment truly was (as well as the true meaning of many other words); and up until that point I never heard the phrase ‘commitment to life’ from someone that not only completely knew about this but also fully lived it. Now not only am I understanding the importance of this but slowly and surely not wanting to run a mile away within my body but actually feel able to do this, which is a massive hurdle for someone to overcome that has been running away all her life.
Absolutely Vicky, I agree, as Gyl states, “I am walking with me” and committing to a walking program gives us the space to see the running away for what it truly is!
I know what you mean Vicky. I also did ‘run’ from commitment. In fact I was overstrained, not tenable, depressed, distanced, overweight, asthmatic and often given a medical certificate that I was not able to work.
To not to commit to life -to run from it- is hard work because its against our natural and so I needed a lot of coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, emotions and other stimulants to get through the day.
Let me tell you world: its not worth it at all. Its strenuous and unsatisfactory. And it keeps us busy while the world is waiting for us for help, serve and inspiration. Its just a deflection.
Gyl thanks for bringing a real depth to commitment, it really comes through and also helps me see all the areas in my life where I am not committed in full. Where I may put things off rather than sort them out. It can be easy to say we are committed in full but as you’ve shared what commitment means is also an deepening understanding. Not only about doing and completing things or turning up but about the actual quality we are in what we do. Thank you.
Love that David, “commitment means also an deepening understanding”. We are responsible for to understand and hold ourselves as each other in love – commitment to our brotherhood of being and our all evolving-process together.
Wonderful Gyl, a powerful expression of what commitment can be. I find when I am troubled by something and therefore pre-occupied with thoughts and not being fully present in that moment, then everything starts to go downhill.. The thoughts become dominating and before you know it you’ve completely lost yourself. And the task that was required gets compromised or sabotaged, and leads to every other thing in the day becoming undermined. Not only that but everything becomes a chore, commitment gets lost and there is none of the lightness you have described, only more stress and feelings of overwhelm. A crazy vicious circle. But when you bring that presence, the experience can be the complete opposite. It is worth giving it a go.
Thank you Gyl for such a superb explanation of commitment and your list that confirms you are worth caring for absolutely. How amazing to be able to turn around that endless searching and discover that all you ever needed was sitting there right inside you. Once we have made that discovery our life becomes a never ending journey of joyfully realising who we truly are and what we are capable feeling, because as you say real commitment is the quality we choose to live in every moment of our day. It is quite a revelation to relinquish worrying about the future, planning, plotting and day dreaming about what we do not have and begin to appreciate in full the graceful simplicity of cherishing ourselves moment by moment.
‘…commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.’ Gyl, again you’re on the money. Commitment to quality and presence is the next step. I am finding it is my commitment to stillness in particular that builds my quality and presence.
Stillness feels foundational: it is the beginning and the end – and the middle.
Gyl is certainly on the money as you are Victoria.
I love what you have expressed, “I am finding it is my commitment to stillness in particular that builds my quality and presence”
Stillness certainly feels foundational to me also.
Thank you for this blog Gyl. You have made my day again :o)
So inspirational and full of wisdom – and so very supportive in taking the next steps!
Thank you Gyl for this super practical blog and particularly the reminder that it is not just about my level of commitment but also about the quality and presence and ‘how I am in whatever it is I am doing’. I can still let my mind race ahead of me (or delve into the past) even though I can feel the difference to when I am simply with me in whatever I am doing fully committed to bringing all of me to my current task which is so beautiful and certainly not heavy.
Great blog, detailed and powerful, there are no excuses left in you when you finish this, you can feel the absolute commitment in each and every word written.
‘Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.’ I so agree Gyl. Not only has committing to self and life down to the simplest of things increased my own sense of joy, it has also resulted in life itself becoming a much simpler thing.
A very powerful declaration of what commitment is and its significance in living a fulfilling life. You clearly show that the foundation for true commitment is first to oneself and your practical list of commitments makes it realistic and liveable.
So often I’ve been caught by “always thinking the next thing will be the one that changes our life”… my mind enjoys creating the fantasy which of course has none of the unresolved issues I may be facing in the present. But all it is is a distraction. When I try to move into that fantasy, I of course bring all the current problems with me and end up in the same mess as before. However, if I just stay with me, right here and now, then there is a simplicity, a beauty, a magic that is right here… and that trumps any problems I may be creating, and actually helps to resolve them quicker than anything else.
A beautiful reminder of the power of commitment in our daily lives and the choices we make that truly support us in each moment. Thank you Gyl.
You bring a whole quality to commitment that makes me want to say right now, that’s it, I’m committing to myself in FULL because that’s how i truly want to live and i know i can…i too Gyl have lived the other as you so honestly shared and it does not work…in committing to myself it is always deepening the presence, there is a consistency, a love within and that is a joy in itself. Even at times when life is challenging, this consistency and commitment to me supports the challenges in the knowing that i will come through this and it does not have to be hard….but brings another opportunity for development and learning, leaving me feeling wiser!
There are a lot of these everyday commitments you shared Gyl that I could relate to and I cannot say that they instantly happened all at once. The seeming simple ones like sleeping when tired or going bathroom when needed took time to build. It now feels normal to me but previously it wasn’t. Just as I am now finding that that commitment to being all that I am in more if not the majority of the day (without perfection) is, does and will require more and more practice. But the cool thing about your list is that it is a great example of being consistent in various aspects of life. Living proof of having been consistent, so there is already a base that can be spread further and further. Thank you.
I have also been on the merry-go-round Gyl searching for the missing bit to make me complete outside of myself… only to find the missing bit in a dusty corner of myself where I had left it years ago. Now the real work begins, ‘committing to life in full’.
“Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” Knowing now that commitment starts by committing to myself in full, loving caring and cherishing me first has changed my perception and understanding of commitment, it no longer feels like a heavy chain that weighs me down. What I am now building on is the consistency to bring this into every part of my life.
An inspiring article Gyl that shows that commitment is a loving commitment to yourself in all that you do and in this we feel our commitment and connection with God and all humanity.
I too used to be on that revolving door of looking outside of myself for answers. Back then I did not know that there was another way to live. Thanks to the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I found that the answer that I was looking for all my life was actually ME, re-connecting to myself and then committing to myself in full. Once I did that it was a lot easier to commit to life in full. Commitment does not scare me any more; in fact it is a joy to commit.
This is a cracker Gyl, which made me take a good hard look at my commitment in all areas of my life or should I say lack of in some. It is very true what you say when we are fully committed to something or a moment there is no what ifs or buts, heaviness or doubt.
I am not this body. I am a divine being, a soul.
I have to learn to express divinity through out this human body, to bring heaven to earth.
Then, one day, we will totally return to our true being and will leave the human body behind.
But until this day I have to commit to what I am and what I have to learn in full. To know who and what I am (a son of God) does not mean that I can/have to avoid human life. The opposite is the case: the simple fact that I am divine, living in a non divine body is asking me to commit in full to this human life which is to master – to return again. And we can not walk this way alone – we are design to do it all together. So my commitment to life is my commitment to my brothers. The arrogance of neither “I am divine I have nothing to do with this humanity” or yet “this is the only life I have – so lets make it glamorous” – it’s just not accepting what we are (divine), why we are here (we separated from God) and what we are here for (return to love again). So I agree Gyl – commitment has indeed a few levels and it is fundamental.
This is just beautiful, Sandra. Wow!
Wow! Simply stunning Sandra!
Wow Gyl, I love your practical list of things to illustrate what commitment to life really means. This is most helpful to me as I have always wondered what that really means. Now I fully understand… thanks so much. love Sue
Reading all the points I can so relate to what you are saying! I know many of them, like not opening letters or putting off things I committed to. To commit in full to every aspect in life, coming down to the simplest thing such as opening letters from the bank or alike, is something I do in waves but this blog inspired me to commit more consistently. I can feel this will make my life lighter and more joyful. Thank you Gyl.
A fabulous sharing Gyl! Our commitment to all parts of life, even the smallest details are important to how life feels for us and those around us.
Reminds me of the saying “God is in the detail”. Committing to all parts of life, big or small, consistently so truly does make a difference. I would challenge anyone to try it for three days and see if it makes a difference.
As I was reading this blog those very words came to me Caroline, ” God is in the detail”… and the qualities of God are there with us when we commit to life very naturally. Consistency is key I have found and the more consistent I am the more I am supported.
I love that – ‘God is in the detail’ …it makes sense that when we lose ourselves in the busyness or the complication; we are actually running from our divinity. If we can see all the detail, life is simple and flows in a rhythm that cannot trip us up, for we only trip when we forget to look and lose our footing on uneven ground.
I agree consistency is key and actually to be fully present with the details and complete the task with that dedication and then take a moment to appreciate yourself is a lovely way to live and each of those completions provides the ground for the next.
Gyl this is sensational. I can feel the deep commitment in your words and that is truly powerful.
Thank you Gyl. It was really supportive for me to read your list. What I am noticing is a kind of fluctuation in the level of my commitment in many areas of my life. It goes up and down. I am good at getting things done, executing and completing tasks, but that is not about commitment. True commitment feels to be about building a steady relationship with whatever I engage in –bringing the quality and presence – and learning to do so consistently, so that it becomes my default posture.
I can relate to fluctuating in the level of my commitment and agree it is about building consistency with the quality and presence in which I undertake everything.
Yes its important to not get caught in the list ticking syndrome, its about being fully you in everything we do, to give equal importance to the rubbish as to your deadline for a corporate client etc. It is being 100% all the time.
Being committed is truly a huge part of living a joyful and light life and it gets better the more willing I am to commit – and that applies t all areas of life, as you rightly point out.
Thank you Gyl for this wonderful blog – it expands my awareness to embrace the deeper understanding of commitment to self – and to commitment to life. I see now these two go hand in hand as I am learning more about commitment to life -it seems there must be the ever deepening and refinement of the commitment to self first, developing more ways of appreciating and loving the fact that we are here at this time, taking the time to value the gentle ways and tenderness of expression in all that we do and say while remembering and re- learning the true value of this commitment to self and thus true commitment to life. I am discovering now more joy and more ability to deal with anxiousness/nervousness when every-day issues or dilemmas seem to be constantly on the move towards us – offering one the choice to ‘give-up’/’check out’ or to practice the gentle breath and choose ‘commitment to life’.
I love the practical elements in you post Gyl (and there are a few dot points I can take heed of). I’ve struggled to understand what committing to life is all about and your words have helped me to comprehend what this really means. It’s liberating!
Thank you – I really appreciate your gift.
I agree rodharvey. Gyl has beautifully outlined in the dott points the simplicity and also loving detail that clearly explains what truly committing to life is all about.
I agree Rod, the dot points are sensational and I can pinpoint areas I’ve yet to fully master. It’s awesome how what we share can support others in their development.
Got to agree with you all on the dot points – I could relate to what was presented in each point – they provided such a clear example of how commitment is really in the detail of how we choose to live our lives.
“Commitment doesn’t have to be something to avoid, dread or put off for as long as possible. Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things…..When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.”
This is beautiful and very clear Gyl. As doing what needs to be done, but with drive or anxiousness, thinking about other things, is not bringing my full commitment. I’ve had moments of experiencing the simplicity of being with myself and it is lovely and joyful. Thank you for sharing your expression as it is a big support for myself and others I am sure.
So inspired by this blog Gyl and your true experience of commitment to life, which is what I am learning too. I appreciate your spelling it out in this way in all the ‘little’ daily things that make up our commitment to life or not, in that we choose to do it or delay – one supports our commitment the other not – which reminds me that I need to get my car washed.
Keeping it that simple is great Josephine, ‘one supports our commitment the other not’ very true and this I find important to be reminded of in this totally simple way. That way it is just about choice, nothing more and nothing less.
Haha, yes Josephine, enjoy washing your car in your full presence…..I know as I commit more and more to me in full it brings a quality to my life where, in the actions of life, there is a feeling of enjoyment, of joy…as I move with my presence!
Those little daily details make a huge difference and I am amazed how much more commitment is possible even after years of working on this.
I will commit to wash your car in presence.
Me too, it goes faster then!
The more presence, the more space, so we feel the deepening commitment allowing other to commit thus more hands, which speeds the car wash up!
Presence + presence = more presence. Thanks Gregbarnes.
Presence + commitment = deepening connection! Thank you Josephine.
Thank you Gyl, you have made it super clear what true commitment is all about – ‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’.
You are absolutely right Hannah, Gyl has made commitment and its true meaning super clear in this blog, the line you quoted was my favourite line too. Gyl loved this blog from top to bottom.
I find this pivotal Hannah – and that it’s an ever-present challenge to be ever-present ! At the moment I am working with staying with my body when my mind wants to run the show. I’ve been going through a phase of waking way too early and not being able to go back to sleep thinking about things, whether it’s something that’s troubling me or tasks I need to do. Working with connecting to my stillness, and my sacredness as a woman, is turning this around. I’m starting to be able to take myself back to sleep.
It’s interesting Victoria how we so easily view being present with ourselves as a challenge – when surely to connect with oneself is one of the most simple and natural things in the world! I wonder if we get attached to things being hard, difficult, or a challenge as a way of delaying – of avoiding the simplicity of what is required and just getting on with it. I know I often find myself taking this little detour – but the awesome thing is the more often I catch it, the easier it is to get back on track.
Thank you Gyl, great reminders here for what commitment truly is, and some more areas for me to apply this to. Making everything I do about being me fully (and more important than the actual task) is a great way to be committed.
Bringing ourselves fully to every situation, way of being and moment in our lives. Being the fullness of who we are with no holding back. Deepening Commitment to life and Love lived- a journey I willingly will take all my life.
Gyl, thank you for this detailed account of what it means to be committed to self and life and how this can change our whole perspective of ourselves, others and life in general to one of Joy, Harmony and Love. It is so powerful to realise that we have it all within us and life can be lived from this reconnection and commitment to ourselves. Life becomes simple and not that complicated version we are use to.
Thank you Gyl for opening this discussion. I also have come to understand that commitment is of vital importance and is essential to all things as it implies that there is an acceptance that we have an equal part to play in everything we do, in every relationship we have and an intention to take full responsibility for turning up present and accounted for, ready and willing to play our role in the whole.
Commitment then becomes true brotherhood.
Commitment is about the ever valuing of oneself and to life itself. When we commit to seeing and appreciating our value, we realise there is (always) more to commit to, and so deepen. What resonated was your line here Gyl: “Being responsible with money, not spending more than I have but also feeling I am worth spending money on”, a true valuing of ourselves is directly related to (our usage or attitude towards) money. And what we have committed to – we truly value; there is worth. If we’ve not committed, then valuing and the sense of worth is less. Commitment all the way then, to lead to dedication.
Thank you Gyl. I am very tired at the moment, because of some of the very reasons you point out here, and as a result, I was finding it difficult to stay present while reading your post. Noticing my mind drifting off to what I need to do next, conscious of the time etc. I can attest to the benefits of being fully present in every moment, something that I’ve let slip over the last few weeks, and am really noticing the difference. It feels all to easy to slip back into an old pattern of go go go, with my head a mile ahead of my body. It doesn’t feel nice, particularly once you’ve experienced another way.
Thank you Gyl for another great sharing this time on Commitment. This is a big one for me this week so your blog is very timely. I am always amazed how something turns up to inspired us when we most need it, but we need to be open to seeing it and integrating it into our lives.
WOW what a power-full blog Gyl ! Thank you.
This is what I am working on, unfolding currently and yes, it does feel AMAZING when I do commit to something, big or small, and follow it through — without excuses. I was always very good at that but somewhere along the way I got burnt out, disillusioned and gave up, because I was seeking recognition in it and lost myself, my connection to me. It has been through the loving choices I am now making and the consistent support of Universal Medicine trained practitioners that I am gradually re-finding my capacity and willingness to commit. Finding the willingness to re-claim my power. Committing to one aspect of life exposes where I am not committed and reveals the work to be done. But the essence of this, as you shared, is how I am in what I do, the quality of my connection and presence that I choose to bring. Living in the knowing that it is this that will bring change and not waiting for something outside of me to change first.
I avoided committing to myself and to life like the plague, even though it was the one thing I knew that would turn my life around. On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life”. Oh how I relate to this, Gyl. This is how I lived most of my life until I met Serge Benhayon and began to attend Universal Medicine events. I did what was required of me, as a wife and a mother, but there was no commitment to myself in that. I used to get up first, have a very quick shower and out to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone, none of it done with love, all as duty, ouch. And so on through the day. It was what I was supposed to do as a woman I thought. I very much resented being a woman, with the things that a woman was supposed to do, all for everyone else. In any spare time that I had, I would bury myself in books, now I realise, to escape from the life that I felt I had to live.
Gyl, I love the way you marry commitment to self and commitment to life. I agree commitment is much more than what we ‘do’ in life, it is about the quality and presence we hold in what we do. Commitment begins with our relationship with us and then whatever we do has fullness in it, and that is what we bring to life.
Victoria I have really felt over the last 3 days what you are saying about the quality and presence that we hold in what we do. I spent a couple of days feeling determined to get things done and could feel how I was barging my way through the day. I could feel how awful this was and yet couldn’t seem to step out of it. Today I have been much more connected to the way that I have been doing what I have been doing and it has felt completely different and so much more enjoyable and spacious.
Yes I have felt this also Alexis, both being caught in the busyness at times and also the feeling of completeness in the moment when I simply stay with the task at hand giving it full presence. Like you say there is a spaciousness in this connection with ourselves and it is also more productive.
This was a pleasure to read Gyl, I found myself completely inspired whilst reading it to commit more to the areas I compromise myself in when I don’t fully commit or allow my quality to wane. Your gorgeous quality and steadiness can be deeply felt in your expression… what a beautiful reflection you are for those kids.
Wow! I feel such a strong sense of commitment in this blog, Gyl: it’s awesome. I love your list of non commitment things and relate to many of them, especially the one about the letters from the bank! I was moved by your definition of commitment that it’s “like saying yes from our absolute fullness and meaning it, from connecting with a friend, ….. or saying yes to a relationship, to ourselves, I want to be with you 110%.” That is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you, Gyl.
This makes great sense. I found it very helpful.
I also felt in reading your blog Gyl, the absolute truth to the fact that it is always about the quality that we are with ourselves before we do anything…. I for one hold a solid commitment to the connection with myself and to God and this is unwavering and yet am continuing to build my way of delivering this same quality to all that I do, say, eat, touch etc. and the way that I move and do everyday things in life. This has a real sense of complete fullness and power for me and a sense of presence in which my quality is my absolute foundation for life. Now that sounds enjoyable to me!
This is the blog I needed to read today! Love it Gyl and can so relate. I sat down with myself yesterday and said ‘right, you may be ticking everything off as a Mum/wife/staff member etc etc, like making sure everyone has what they need, but in what quality are you doing it?’ And I can feel how much resentment I have bottled up inside because I am not committing firstly to myself, and then doing what is needed. Today, so much pressure has lifted and I am enjoying staying with myself and not jumping forward moment by moment… like giving myself time to eat a lovely lunch and read this inspiring blog. Thank you
As always, I really enjoyed reading the honesty in your blog Gyl. Commitment to life truly is a beautiful and light experience when we ‘go there in full’. Not holding back our expression from every single thing that we do and holding every way that we express as equal everything. There really is a vitality that comes with this way of living an the beauty is that we begin to really know ourselves for who we really are and as a double blessing, everyone else gets to learn who we are too.
Absolutely awe-inspiring and amazing blog Gyl, staying present in my body with what I’m doing and not having my thoughts else where make a huge difference to my life, its sending a strong message to myself, saying your so worth connecting too, and brings an immense appreciation of me and my life.
Thanks Gyl, it was lovely to feel your joy coming through, showing how commitment to life doesn’t need to be something to dread or avoid.
I felt the same Fiona, commitment isn’t something to dread or avoid, but something to embrace with joy.
I love this blog Gyl is it very inspiring and also very familiar. I can very much relate to the constant searching for something more in my earlier years, trying everything under the sun…and equally I relate to the joy of re-connecting to the love that I am and feel inside of me, and my connection to life.
The reflections on your commitment points are a lovely reminder of how easily we can commit more to ourselves in everyday life. Thank you.
Thank you Gyl, gorgeous. We can avoid committing to life and make it complicated and difficult whereas in truth it’s the most beautiful and simple thing to do in the world. The ‘dragging’ feeling we can have as we go about our day isn’t there when we take this responsibility to ourselves. It’s amazing and what we are fuelled with, is a deep inner joy that we then bring to all that we do.
So true commitment is such a joy. I can’t quite explain what it has done for me but every time I commit, life goes straight ward and it doesn’t matter if I make a mistake. As when I’m fully committed there is no right or wrong just a development.
Gyl what a truly awesome blog that I know I’m going to come back to again and again. I had labelled myself a commitment-phoebe and hadn’t realised the many ways I already commit until I read your blog. Until now I’d focused on commitment being something so big and all-encompassing that I couldn’t possibly have a grasp on it. But after reading your blog I now have a greater understanding on what it is to commit: That by just connecting to myself I connect to God and the universe and will feel exactly what there is to be done. Sounds like fun and joy, so far apart from the version of commitment I had previously concocted for myself. Invaluable. Thank you.
‘When I have X I will be ready’ – I can relate very strongly Gyl to this philosophy. For me it was waiting to be ‘well enough’ for life, but what a trick as its this holding back from commitment that caused the ill in the first place. We so often hear about commitment as an action we need to do, so I love how you say it in the end – truly its just a commitment to being present with you.
I love what you share, Gyl, that commitment in full is being fully present in that moment.
Thank you for bringing out so many beautiful details of commitment. I can so relate to what you share here, and especially “Creating the space to prepare and eat food that will truly support and nourish me.” So often I have chosen what to eat according to the time I think I have available rather than feeling what food my body truly needs at that time. Sometimes when I have actually felt my body, it isn’t even food that it needs but a drink of water!
2. Why is it that we are all racing around looking outside ourselves for love and joy when we can only ever find it within ourselves? Yet by changing the focus from out there to in here we can so easily connect to what is already there that is so joyous and fulfilling. It’s almost as if there is some huge conspiracy trying to stop us finding ourselves and we play ball with it by allowing ourselves to be run by something that is not us. It’s blogs like yours Gyl, that help bust the conspiracy.
Gyl, thank you for going into the detail here. I was feeling daunted by ‘commitment to life’ making it a big thing that I wasn’t doing when now I realise that I am committed in many areas of my life but not in all areas and not consistently. This helps me to see that I need to build this consistency and extend my commitment to areas of my life that I am avoiding bringing light to. Underpinning this was a lack of appreciation of myself and what I bring and I spent a lot of time putting others before myself. As you say: ‘this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life.’
Thank Gyl. Yes I agree, it’s about not choosing complication, just keeping it simple by focusing on being present and the quality. Beautiful
I feel you have Nailed What commitment is about. Its amazing to consider that every moment, we have a choice to be all that we are, and not act out in a way that we know we have done before, but rather express from our bodies what is true.
With a commitment to life comes an appreciation of all that life has to offer, not being afraid to open up and go beyond what feels comfortable, safe, predictable.
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’ – this is awesome. It is showing me that I have some work to do in this area. I love how you’ve captured the essence of commitment so succinctly.
Gyl, you’ve nailed commitment here. It is nothing scary to commit to oneself and life generally, even for the most uncommitted person, they absolutely will find the same: spacious, light, enjoyable feelings. I’ve often been one to wonder in thought all day and be looking for the ‘next thing’ over and over again. I need not wander so much these days and whilst I’m still deepening commitment everyday to life in all areas, I seek nothing more than who I am and what I have or do (other than what I’d like to have, do or develop into naturally). Thanks for your blog.
Love what you share here Gyl. I’m someone who just loved sitting on that fence! What I have found is that when I fully commit, I feel so much joy from having made the commitment and if I’d been hesitant feeling there was a lack of time, things seem to constellate so I always do have the time. As though I’m being supported in my loving choice.
Commitment can become a part of our everyday rhythm as you have expressed Gyl, and what better commitment can there be than being responsible for ourself by committing to being fully present in every moment. “When I not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full….to myself and to life in full”.
Gyl thankyou for this very inspiring explanation on commitment, it explores it so beautifully and has given me a greater understanding feeling the difference between the divide – when I am not committed – it feels like a a horrible slide back into the primordial mud – familiar but very dull.
Gyl, you’ve offered such a detailed break down of how lack of commitment can look and the truly awesome benefits life gives you when we commit in full to all that we are and do.
Your understanding will support many to discover where they are at with commitment too, as it has done for me.
Wow Gyl – YES! This is huge yet at the same time is really very simple. Highlights for me the obviousness and importance that I am either committed in full or not, wipes out any notions of ‘a little bit committed’, or ‘almost there’, or ‘am here, but not quite there’.
Great timing for me to read this Gyl. The first paragraph is such a gentle slap in the face, a moment of ‘yes I do that all the time!’. I choose a life of partying, drugs and spirituality where I did not have to commit to anything, I was flakey and unreliable in most things. Now I am committed to having a relationship with my body, divinity and everyone else too, yet the lack of commitment still gets me some day with many of the instances you’ve listed.
Great point Rachel – when we juggle loads of different things at once (not committing fully to any of them), the quality of what we do is usually pretty awful! We may think that we are ‘clever’ doing or trying so many different things when actually we’re destroying our bodies. A great example is how so many teenagers go out partying and drinking to ‘get through’ University and relieve the stress; but of course the quality of their work and study is hugely affected by their exhaustion and often they turn to caffeine to get them through the day.
Saying ‘yes’ to life, your blog has helped me so much in my appreciation of what commitment is. Thank you Gyl, I will be back to read that list again.
Gyl, thank you for your amazing blog and every point, even if it is a small one, which needs commitment especially the enjoyment of being there in full.
It’s that simple isn’t but we can avoid it like the plague! I love your simple and practical list of what commitment can look like and how we can bring it more into our lives. I agree with you as it has been my experience that my life has dramatically improved since I committed to me being in this life and not looking for something external to bring it for me.
Hello Gyl Rae and it’s great to have the definition of commitment laid out like this so clearly. We often have commitment hung over our heads because we think at times we have commitment issues. But in fact and, as is my experience, commitment is simply ‘owning’ the next moment you are in, whatever and wherever that may be. Simply, commitment is a moment by moment opportunity to feel what is there, a commitment to yourself. It not necessarily doing something for 40 years day in day out that shows we are committed, but more the choice of how we are in that ’40 years’. “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” Thank you Gyl.
Awesome Ray, you have summarised and captured the essence of this blog beautifully. What your comment brings to me is how much this word has been used as a burden or a thing that is a long obligation. I feel clearer on the false meaning of this word now, great comment, extremely committed.
You’ve hit on one of the big misconceptions that we have about commitment, Ray. That to be committed means we do the same thing all the time, or to be the same all the time. When in fact, what you present and what Gyl beautifully presents in this blog it is “a moment by moment opportunity to feel what is there, a commitment to yourself”. Stunning.
Hello Naren Duffy and yes I agree thank you. There is a quality to commitment and not just a repetitive action.
I love your blog Gyl and all the practical examples you’ve shared about what commitment to life may look like.
Gyl, I love the power in the choices you make to bring all of you in every moment, action and relationship in your life. Very inspiring to say the least.
Thank you Gyl, I was particularly struck when you spoke of “fully committing to being with me”. This was a useful reminder because I had a very difficult day yesterday where something upset me and I found myself overeating in the evening. Reading your blog it struck me how I gave up a bit in that moment to being with and taking care of myself and the consequences were not fun. I am back with myself again this morning and very glad for the reminder!
All of this could have come straight out of my – hand! Yes thanks to Michael and Serge Benhayon’s help, I have come to not only accept but begin experiencing absolute joy in committing to life and being here in full.
This is such a powerful blog for me at present that I’ve read it a few time’s already. What I’ve seen this time is the truth in this statement “commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” I feel where I can get stuck is that I try and try to commit to everything in life, commit to completing things, commit to the exercise program, commit to eating well and so on,but it never stays because I have not truly committed to the quality I choose in every moment in the way I hold my self. So it’s easy, the answer to any lack of commitment in any part of our life is to not try harder, but instead go deeper in our commitment to choosing the quality of our state of being.
Another great blog, thanks Gyl. Commitment to self changes everything, including committing to everyone and everything we undertake. Rather than it being burdensome, you describe how being fully present in all that we do makes such a huge difference. As one who used to look outside of myself for answers, it was great to find ( inspired by Universal Medicine) that I only had to look inwards and be fully present; that transformed everything, including myself!
“When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full…” love this absolute truth of commitment being first of all committed to being present and therefore living soul impulsed, very awesome!!!
Love your strength of purpose thank you for a brilliant run down on commitment
Yes Alison there feels a real strength and alignment to the divine in Gyl’s description. I had not really drilled down to that deep level, that true commitment to life involved not the amount that i do in life but how much I was committed to bringing my full presence to everything I do, Fantastic reminder.
Another great blog by Gyl, thank you. I have learned over the past year especially that if I don’t commit in a certain area of my life, for instance work, then this has an impact on all areas of my life. I cannot commit to a certain area because for instance this is my ‘favorite’ part of life. Commitment has no areas, you either commit to everything or you don’t commit at all. Big learning and work in progress for me.
I love how this blog demonstrates and simply explains what commitment is and the importance of self commitment first. I know I have, and can, shy away from commitment, though when I read the list of practical examples it makes the word very real in life and I can see clearly which areas in my life are lacking in and which I am committed to. Thank you Gyl for the clarity.
Thank you Gyl for writing about commitment to self and life so light, simple and with joy. When I become serious around what commitment to life means, I can make it heavy, this blog is a great reminder that there is nothing heavy about committing, but that it is an absolute joy.
Thank you Gyl, yet another powerful blog of yours. You make it very clear what commitment to life and oneself is. No more wandering around thinking this or that but being fully present all the time.
That is such inspirational blog – with reminders of what it is we life for and what in truth commitment it. I had found myself today worrying about what would come next, being all day busy with planning what is next. Then I could feel i was getting quiet tensionfull, my body become tense and anxious. Then I stopped and read your article. I can feel how I missed to be present in the moment, and that being busy with what is next on my list , creates an unnatural tension. Which brings me then further away of myself and my presence. A beautiful opportunity to come back to myself and feel myself being present in the moment again. I feel so much more real again. Thank you Gyl Rae.
True Commitment in full to life is a very healthy way to live and something many overlook. To me, when we are not committed to life we are not committed to ourselves and there can simply be no joy or love in that for me.
This is a beautiful blog Gyl, bringing attention to everything we do brings such a clarity in life, and making the commitment to be with what we are doing is the most important thing to come to this full attention, because there is nothing else more important or better than what we are doing at that moment.
It is a great revelation for me when you say, ” commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing”. This is very important to remember about commitment to self and all that I choose to do.There are so many sections in this blog that I highlighted to reconfirm, however this finally stood out as the most important part to remind myself about. As I am usually in the moment when I am teaching my students…it’s when I walk out of the room, or when they walk out of the room, that they take my commitment with them and I lose quality and presence just being with me. Now I understand what you mean by a deeper level of commitment to self.
Committing to commit to life in full has been a very powerful exercise. It hasn’t been something I have done all at once because i wasn’t fully aware of all the areas where i was lacking commitment. There were some obvious ones, but it is the subtle more sneaky ones that have surprised me. As I can feel the pattern weave itself. I have been a master coaster, doing enough to get by but not too much to stand out. By committing to life in full I can now feel like I have so much more to bring to my friends and family and the world.
So often commitment is something avoided, feared even, but you have brought a wonderful lightness and joy to it Gyl, that why wouldn’t we want to commit to ourselves?
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full’. Beautifully said Gyl, and all that I have been discovering for myself. Being present with whatever is before me, and fully meeting whomever I am with, this is making a world of difference in my life.
Hi Gyl. Nailed it on the head with saying commitment is being fully present with whatever we are doing and not holding back. I like those little things you’ve shared like going to the toilet as soon as we feel we need to rather than holding on, saying exactly what we mean in relationships rather than half expressing ourselves.
I love what you have expressed here Gyl –
‘When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.’
Being absolutely present in each moment is a commitment to ourselves and to all.
I have learned that being busy and doing lots doesn’t necessarily mean that you are committed to life in full. As you point out Gyl, it is the quality of presence that we bring to all of that, which brings about a way of living that is truly fulfilling and so so gorgeous.
“commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” Absolutely Gyl. I love the simplicity but power of these words. With each step I take I’m in commitment to my self and life or not.
Wow Gyl from your list I have a long way to being fully committed to life! All those little things that I let slide will be draining the life out of me. Thank you for such a clear expose on what commitment really is and not the scary word we have been lead to believe it is.
Wow, what a sensational blog. So honest, so responsible yet so humble and non self judgmental. I could relate to everything mentioned in this and see how living with a lack of commitment is just a way to hold myself small. Thank you for the inspiration!
This is awesome Gyl. This has reminded me to commit in full to whatever it is I do in each moment. There is so much joy and space this way ~ instead of thinking on to the next thing which is not much fun, and often causes ‘brain strain’. Committing to each moment I can feel is an ultimate form of self-honouring.
A FULL commitment to anything does feel fantastic i couldn’t agree more Gyl. It’s one of those things in life you can always count on – it just works … everything does feel lighter, more free, more joyful, more simple, clearer, more powerful and there is an absolute strength and conviction to what ever the task is at hand.
I love this. Growing up the idea of commitment and responsibility felt like a burden. Since I began to commit to my life and relationships, I realised that responsibility and commitment are actually foundational qualities to live a life where I feel amazing in my own skin.
Gyl, thank you. Reading your blog today was exactly what was needed, I love how you stress the point it is about the quality of what we do and the presence, wow so true. Due to what I have just read I am now inspired to go deeper in commitment to my own life, once again thank you.
Wow Gyl – I absolutely love the strength and the clarity that you write with here. Inspiring stuff and definitely leading me to look at my commitment to life. Thank you.
Great article Gyl – thank you for sharing what commitment means for you and how true commitment – making life about the quality and presence in all that you do – has changed your life. I can certainly relate to your list of small changes that you have made upon realising it did not have to be some huge big thing! I also love how you shared the importance of being present on your walk. It is such a trick that we need to “think” about something or “mentally plan” it while we are doing something lovely for ourselves like taking a walk or having a bath. If we use these opportunities to connect with ourselves and feel and be present in our bodies, then this actually supports us to be present in our work. The planning is important yes, but so is making a time just for planning so you can be present doing that. Makes me realise how horrible and so last century that multi-tasking is!
We are responsible for our choices and when we choose to commit to self, life flows things just fall into place. By choosing to commit to being present with myself and continually deepening my connection my quality of presents with myself is deeper and more meaningful with others.
Committing to whatever job or task I am in and not straying ahead or looking for an escape it a big one for me. I am starting to realise how any job, even if it starts of hard or has parts I don’t like, has an opportunity to change into something I love if I stay committed and see it through. I have found over time that challenges I face don’t go away if I run away from them, they just resurface again and again, so it makes a lot of sense to face head on all the challenges I find myself in and commit in full to life.
I loved your blog Gyl, with its oh so relatable flavor.
The truth is, when we choose to commit to life in full, to a job, a relationship, a choice, ourselves, it feels amazing, there’s not one ounce of heaviness or dread, just an incredible feeling of lightness, freedom, joy, simplicity, clarity, power and absolute strength. There is no room for fleeting moments of self-doubt or wavering thoughts, no anxiousness or ‘what ifs’ or buts, just the absolute simplicity and joy of life in full. Your words here, are exactly what I needed to hear at this time so thank-you for sharing.
Beautiful Gyl. You have offered a crystal clear approach on how to commit to life in full and what that looks and feels like. And I agree, it is indeed super strange that we spend so much of our lives looking outside for the magic, when it’s been with us all along. I used to have a severe issue with the “C” word, and was very much a coaster. This has changed over time and is still a work in progress but the difference is unmistakable as far as living a life of purpose, understanding and joy. Super inspiring blog Gyl, thank you.
I loved reading your blog Gyl, I love your writings.
Lovely to feel your commitment to yourself and to life Gyl – truly inspiring.
Many people think that it is hard work and a burden to commit to life as they do not really know what this means and how to do it. I know I did not when it was first brought to my attention. so Gyl your very specific detailed blog on the how to commit to life and what this looks like is an awesome support for many.
“Commitment to self and to life is an absolute joy that can be felt, even in the simplest of little things.” This is so true Gyl!
You make me what to say a big YES to commitment.
I can certainly relate to this ‘searching but never finding what I’m looking for’ feeling and way of life. I’ve tried to fit in with almost every ‘group’ at school you could think of… Resulting in no luck! Funny thing is, that when I’m myself I don’t feel the same ‘need’ to have a group or possy of friends – I’m perfectly fine going to and from whoever seems right at the time. I notice this with what I wear as well – again I continue to experiment with different clothes, based on what OTHERS wear and what I think I should be wearing, not what I’m actually impulses to. This results in very low confidence when I go out, which can change pretty immediately if I wear something I picked out because I wanted to wear that on the particular day.
I love the points you have listed, it made me stop and consider how much time I was allowing to take care of those things in my life.
The stand out line for me here was “When I am not thinking about anything else apart from the very moment I am in, that is commitment in full, not only to whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, but also commitment to myself and to life in full.” – a great reminder of the power in being consciously present.
I really love the way you write Gyl. The very practical down to earth connection that you have made with commitment is very stilling. It is very supportive to commit to caring for ourselves, by doing the things that need doing when they need doing, with presence and great care and tenderness.
WOW ! Gyl this blog is absolutely nailing it and really touching me in this moment ( I even cried reading it, because it touched me so much- feels like a session that I had) ! A great support for non- committer 😉 THANK YOU for expressing all of you!!!
Holding the world to ransom is the most efficient excuse for not committing to life. I’m loving the process of unfolding into this life after many years of choosing to hold back because I was hurt. Being present in our daily lives makes all the difference. It’s the only way that we get to feel who we are and build a bridge made of love to connect with self and others. If we live this as much as we can, all the things that we do – even the really mundane stuff – feels amazing.
Wow – this blog really made me sit up and take notice. I had to commit to reading it – every word invited me to do so. You have laid committment to life out so clearly and simply Gyl. Thank you so much. I feel to commit to reading this blog many times.
Thank-you Gyl, I can relate to each and every dot point, simple everyday commitments that each and everyone of us have when we are an adult in this world but how many of us actually commit, in full, to the completion of our daily commitments, all the way to the end. And as you say this is just the action, the doing, the very basis of commitment – for a true commitment to be there, is to bring the quality of our presence in every movement. Great blog – it is evidence of the great and natural teacher that you are.
This is a wonderful blog. Just by reading it I could feel many things I can relate – looking outside of me, yes, I have done that in many variations on what you mention. Hopping from one thing, group, situation to another. And yes, always feeling this was not it. ‘It’ was actually the connection with myself I was missing, the deep commitment to Life, my life, this body, life itself. Thanks for the sum up of all the so-called small things you mention about what commitment consists of. I ‘do’ most of these things e.g. I have made choices like you sum up the past years. I could even feel, whilst reading, there was a joy coming up. Apparently, I still had in a subtle way an idea it was bigger than those things, an expectation of myself. It can be bigger. And see how even in this phase the old pattern can pop up. Always something outside of us, bigger, in the future. So now, thanks Gyl, I can say with a big smile: a big appreciation to me for committing to life with all the ‘small’ choices, steps, actions I make daily to support me, my body in life.
Gorgeous blog Gyl about the true meaning of what it is to have a commitment to life.
Something I am sure many can relate to in one way or another. In my teens I used to know I wasn’t doing what I should be doing but would actually ‘think’ oh but I will do that in a few years time right now I will have fun! The thing is that the energy that chooses to ‘put it off’ or not commit needs to later be taken really firmly in the hand to actually then choose to commit to life in full, i am learning and feeling this from experience. So from my experience it is always so more loving to just do it straight away, not put things off and commit. Commitment has been made out to be such a big scary thing, I also used to feel if I commit then I won’t have any time for ‘me’. How wrong is this. It is actually completely the opposite .. when we truly commit life becomes easier .. and more joyfull. However, I was not really conscious of all of this until meeting and knowing Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, who’s teachings and presentations are deeply appreciated.
Awesome blog Gyl. A beautiful and clear understanding of the word COMMITMENT in full.
The external distractions are indeed the non-stop merry-go-round that keep us as far away from the truth of commitment to ourselves and our life. Thank God for Serge Benhayon’s presentations which have taught me more about true choices and commitment than ever applied to my life before.
The way in which you present commitment to self, life, everything shows how simple and normal it is for us to live this way and if this is so, what has happened that we have allowed ourselves to live anything less than this?
A wonderful blog Gyl and I love how you brought such clarification and expansion to the word commitment. It is often felt as such a big and serious word carrying a huge weight, but you have introduced the simplicity of what commitment actually is for us in every single moment; it’s the little things that we make a commitment to that grows the love for ourselves. It’s the little moments of self love ( putting something warm on before you get cold), the self nurturing, that grows into the total package of love that we hold ourselves in, and from that loving commitment to ourselves, the commitment to life flows ever so effortlessly.
Gyl your commitment to life can be felt in what you share here in this article. I love the list you have written, simple ways of how we can commit to life and there are a few that I need to make a deeper commitment to. I can feel in myself there are many area’s of my life where I have deeply committed, but there are still pockets where I haven’t and it is those pockets that are holding me back.
“Commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing.” This is so true and important.
Gyl- I can really feel the commitment in what you have written here. To commit to every moment, every decision, every word we speak, every person we talk with and every action we perform is the ultimate commitment to self.
“On a daily basis, this lack of commitment to self, to fully being with me, impacted my ability to fully commit to life”. For me Gyl this is my cue, and I have only come to fully realise this in recent months. Thank you for your writings and to feel again how important being fully present with oneself in everything that I do.
Hi Gyl, this was so easy to read and made so much sense. What I got from this blog is that the commitment is to ourselves and everything we are involved with in our everyday lives and that way we are not waiting for life to give us anything, as we already have everything within us.
Gyl thanks for sharing truly what it means to be commited to self and life.
Gyl, I can really relate to your fabulous blog. I recognise the merry-go-round you describe. That constant looking outside of myself and hoping that I will come across the next best thing that I will feel fulfilled by, whether it is a perfect job, that perfect man, that perfect friendship, that perfect film. Like you I have come to realise that the quality I am in whatever it is I am doing is the key that really changes everything. Committing to being ‘in quality’ supports the change which becomes the new normal.
I love especially your list here Gyl – making commitment so real!
I can add one point today:
This morning I did lay in my bed with my lovely husband and felt physical very near but there was something missing. And I realized that I am not as deep in my body as I could and also my heart was not as open. I once made a commitment to this relationship by signing a contract and saying Yes to him and our partnership – but I have to live this commitment every moment of our life to make it real and truthfully. And that mean as well to deepen and to evolve. By lying very close together but not in true intimacy (with a not so open heart) – I lie. I do so as we are close by being it not.
I do appreciate my commitment to myself and the honesty I have to feel this “missing something” and the willingness to go through the bottom of it and let it go. I am longing for intimacy – so I have to take care of it.
With a commitment to life comes an appreciation of all that life has to offer, not being afraid to open up and go beyond what feels comfortable, safe, predictable.
Oodles of wisdom Gyl, and more. Each day we refine, see and feel more of what it is to commit to self and with it comes a huge appreciation of life. I love the way you focus on the little things, the ones that could so easily be overlooked. You capture the essence in these words: ‘commitment is much more than what I do, it’s actually about the quality and presence I am in, or to put it another way, how I am in whatever it is I am doing’.
Hi Gyl, This blog was my life! looking outside for something, moving house every three years to distract myself, the relationship, the hobby and so it goes on a never ending cycle of looking but never committing to life. Your list of the things we can choose to commit to is thought provoking! I see areas I have not fully embraced, thank you.
Gyl your commitment to you and to life can be felt in every word you write! There is a wholeness and roundness with it that feels purposeful. It feels that when life is lived in this way much joyful strength and wisdom is accrued or that space is created for it to come through. Thank you for sharing your experience of what committing to life really is – nothing heavy or dutiful but easy, joyful and powerful.
Loved reading your blog Gyl, I have been a master at not committing to life and jumping from one thing to another hoping it will offer the changes I needed. The more I commit to life the more areas get exposed where I have not committed. I used to find this frustrating and try to push through and make things happen, now I accept that it is only through my consistency in committing to life will these areas of my life open up and unfold…..especially at work where I have previously made it all about me and not about others.
I can really feel how there is no difference in committing to a relationship with a partner in full, or committing to being with a person you meet in your day in full. I notice here and there that I might get distracted during a conversation with a friend or even a person working in the supermarket, showing me I’m not committed to being in that moment, even if we’re only talking for a few minutes, very revealing… but I’m appreciating that awareness as each time I clock it, I really re-focus on the moment and the connection with that person – a commitment work in progress…
Gyl what a great article and so incredibly important. I have been very aware recently of how my commitment to me, to what I’m doing, to others fades in and out depending on what importance I put on what I am doing. I am getting to feel that as my commitment fades in and out so do I !
Gyl, this blog is simply awesome. I love the real-ness of your list of simple things you can commit to in your daily life – big and small. To me, this breaks commitment down into something way less scary and way more do-able. Thank you for your insights and clarity; they are inspirational.
Wow Gyl this is a gorgeous blog. Thank you for bringing the truth of what commitment is and the harmony and fullness that this choice brings.
Thank you Bianca, this is just the start 🙂
I am with you Bianca this is a great blog Gyl thankyou for presenting a true living foundation of commitment .
A very needed view on commitment to share with the world, nothing heavy or serious about it.
This is a very powerful article Gyl and commitment of this kind has been for me an enormous factor in life and how important it is to really stop and make every effort to actually commitment to as you say being in work and not wanting to be else where, enjoying myself to the max so that I do not do things to harm my body. These are simple points but can and have taken me a while to understand fully and action what is needed while deepening them and developing them.
Commitment is choosing to be present and accepting of our choices at this moment. There is no room in this for doubt or seeking another outcome to what is here before us. It is one of the most challenging things in life for me, and I imagine for so many of us, because truly committing to life means that I am here right now with myself in full.
Not thinking about how things could have been had I made a different choice, and not thinking about how life might be different in the future if only some kind of miracle would happen. Just being here, now, and embracing what is presented before me. Embracing me as the one who has chosen to live my life in full, and all of the incredible opportunities for new choices, deeper choices, loving choices that comes with committing to my life.
Thank you for this beautiful blog, Gyl.