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Making Commitments of Love and Courage
There is a story about a little girl who suffered from a serious disease. Her best chance of recovery would be to receive a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother. The doctor explained the situation to the little brother. He asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. The young boy hesitated for a brief moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save my sister's life." During the transfusion, the boy lay in the bed next to his sister. He smiled when he saw color returning to her cheeks. Then his smile started to fade, and his face grew pale. With a trembling voice, he looked up at the doctor and asked, "Will I start to die now already?" The little boy had misunderstood the doctor's explanation. He thought that he would need to give all of his blood to save his sister, and he would have done so. Moving from Resolution to Commitment The realization of our goals, dreams, and deepest desires depends greatly on commitment, stepping from the familiar into the new. It requires putting our faith on the line to honor our purpose, our personal contract with life. We make resolutions and carry them with us until we commit firmly. Once we commit and begin taking the necessary actions, resolutions become unnecessary. Without commitment, we remain chained to resolutions and visions, living perpetually beyond the present moment. Though we need to envision with gratitude our goals and their attainment, it is now we must take action. Only in the present moment will we realize the soul's tremendous courage to follow our own true north -- to manifest the reason we are alive. The Courage to Serve Rollo May wrote, "The acorn becomes an oak by means of automatic growth; no commitment is necessary...But a man or woman becomes fully human only by his or her choices and his or her commitment to them. People attain worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions they make from day to day. These decisions require courage." Commitment is the beginning of service to others. Making a commitment often requires that we release fear. We need to look clearly at things we would rather not see or accept. I believe courage arises ultimately from love. The courage to serve is inspired by the faith to serve not only the self but also all of humankind. In the words of Henry van Dyke (1852-1933), "Faith is an adventure; it is the courage of the soul to face the unknown. But that courage springs from the hope and confidence of the soul that its adventure will succeed." Faith and commitments to service can inspire the hope and confidence in each other that our human family needs. An Outpouring of Love and Compassion Today, we are witnessing a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion for those in Asia who have endured unimaginable, heartbreaking devastation and loss. Tears flow and prayers are spoken for people we have never met. Commitments to service and selfless acts of love are taking place globally on an unprecedented scale. Even in extreme tragedy, our "courage of the soul" that Henry van Dyke mentioned flourishes around the globe as many nationalities join together to help those in need. At a human level, we do not understand why we must suffer. We cannot remove the pain or reunite all of the grieving families. Only God will do that. However, our commitments can make life-changing differences. Commitments that Make a Difference We must first be acutely aware that we are not guaranteed the next ten minutes on this earth. We can grow in appreciation for the sanctity of life and realize how capable we are of reaching out with empathy and authentic compassion. We can also commit to honor the worth and dignity of all fellow humans, serving and supporting them in times of need. All of us can serve -- if not with donations, with acts of kindness and prayer. It is a choice we must make for the future of our planet. It is a commitment to serve and be responsible for the welfare of each other. © Copyright by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve coaches people to help them revitalize their inner spark, access their natural talents, and design strategies to reach their personal and professional goals. Get the next issue of Steve's ezine, Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, by visiting www.achieveezine.com" target="_blank">http://AchieveEzine.com
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A Dream is Just a Dream ... Or is It? Some people dismiss dreams as nonsense, thought patterns running amuck as we sleep because we are not conscious and in a position to control them.Others believe that a dream is meant to serve a purpose and provide information that our conscious mind is unable to recognize. Top 20 Love Quotations "In real love you want the other person's good. In romantic love, you want the other person. Voices Inside My Head Have you ever wanted to do something really major-something stupendous-something totally different and so down right incredible that the fact that you created the idea has you stimulated and excited?Like, for instance, you decide to open your own business. You have the idea of exactly what you want to do and how you want to do it. How Do You Do That? Demystifying People With Disabilities IntroductionNearly all employers and human resource professionals are aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Yet, how often do you, your colleagues, or the average individual have contact with someone who is visually impaired/blind, using a wheel chair, or profoundly deaf? When you do, how do you react? Interact? Ignore? Assist? Marvel at their ability to move through their environment living full and productive lives?What can you do to put yourself and the person with a disability at ease? Well, this is our purpose here. Songs of Life I imagine when we die we find out how in-tune with our hearts we should have been. Not an easy thing to do with all our mere mortal vices getting in the way. The Memorable First Days! The first few hours in this world, when we as babies drop out to mingle with the natural beauty and wonders, the first day in our life is the most important day of our life.Don't we all have these memorable first days in our life?Ask a philatelist and he or she will say how memorable the first days are, to them. Have You Lost Focus? Matthew 5:14-16You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Virtual Chocolate A second on your lips forever on your hips never happens with virtual chocolate. Chocolate begins from a seed. Change is the Only Constant The physics professor with the unruly shock of white hair strolls up to the blackboard, picks up the chalk, and writes a big tilde, then below it an equally large equal sign-thus creating the symbol for "approximately equals."Turning to the amphitheater full of eager students and pointing to the board, he smiles, "Ladies and gentlemen, there is only one ting dot is certain in zee known universe. Believe In Yourself And Become a Winner: Lessons from Hollywood Copyright 2004 Priya Shah A while ago I made it a point to watch the movie "Legally Blonde." Not just for the bright, chirpy and eminently watchable Reese Witherspoon, but also because I loved the message it sent out. Switch to a Better Channel! Peril, catastrophe and disaster.These are our friends, allies and mentors. The Procrastinating Perfectionist Are you a procrastinating perfectionist? I once read an article dealing with the fear of failure and success. The author described it as the following: "The curse of the procrastinating perfectionist". Spiritual Bread Making All the ingredients to make 12 loaves of bread already exist. The probability that any kind of bread already exists in your reality and it is simply is a matter of combining ingredients to create a possibility. Wake-Up Call Direct Answers - Column for the week of October 7, 2002In the first half of May, I went through two remarkable changes. One was physical and the other involved emotional recall. Its Better to Give than to Receive "It's better to give than to receive." You've probably heard that popular saying. How to Overcome Loneliness Nowadays the majority of people live in very large cities. It is hard to imagine that in cities of millions of people that anyone could feel lonely. Save the Planet with Your Joy! Your own level of frequency raises or lowers the overall frequency of humanity, and because being at higher frequency equals the experience of joy, it is literally true that in order to raise up the world and deliver it from suffering, it is imperative that you are joyful! And most people think saving the world requires sacrifice and suffering! In fact, the very opposite is true. Indeed, the most magnanimous-and effective-thing you can possibly do for the planet and its inhabitants is to raise your frequency up out of pain and struggle to that of peace, joy, and ease so that the collective joy-level increases, thus lifting all out of pain and struggle. Remember Within Remember when you were really young? It was an era of inconsequential innocence. Even at this age, your imagination was larger than large. Flaming Fire Within Our Bones Jeremiah was certainly one of the most distinguished notables of the Old Testament. To read his messages and experiences is to become acquainted with a great servant of God. Does Your Childhood Hold You Back? Have you come to a point in your life and got stuck and unable to move on?I've been shocked recently to discover how many women and men have suffered one trauma or another during childhood, in particular the amount that have been through abuse.The experience of abuse, at an age when it would be impossible to know how to handle it, is horrific, be it beatings, humiliation or sexual abuse.
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