Courage to Commit

I went to a wedding this last weekend.  I love weddings!  Every time I hear wedding vows, it brings tears to my eyes.  I think the words are so beautiful.

Imagine…we stand up and say “YES!” to a lifetime commitment to LOVE.  We promise unconditional love to another person.  As imperfect people, this is a leap of faith.  This kind of commitment takes courage.

The priest at the wedding this weekend said, “We have no idea what people, events, and circumstances will define this union.”  Isn’t that true? We can not predict what will happen but we are hopeful, expectant, and full of faith (or are we just clueless?).  We don’t know what our story will be and that’s the beauty of it.  That’s the romance.  The two of us against the world!

My husband and I were young when we got married.  Did we know what we were doing?  Absolutely not!  That’s the beauty of being young and brave (or clueless) and invincible.  I remember the priest telling us in no uncertain terms that we were committing to love each other unconditionally for the rest of our lives.  He said it really slow, Unnconnditionnalllly (dramatic pause)…for the resssssssssssttttttttt of your liiiives.

At the wedding, I sat next to a couple that was talking about having a baby.  They were wondering…should they, shouldn’t they, how will their lives change? I have found that if we think about things too much, we all become hesitant, fearful, and unsure.  I’m not recommending we throw caution to the wind and live life without thinking but I know that if I think too much about something, I can have “paralysis from over analysis”.

I found a quote on a Starbucks cup (Inspiration is everywhere!) that speaks to this.  The quote is not attributed to anyone but this person sure was wise.

The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love.  The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation.  To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.

Don’t you love this? We do dress up our fear, don’t we?  We call ourselves “realistic” or “cautious” or “practical” when often, we are just plain scared.  Sometimes we need to say “Yes!” first and then figure out how to make it all work.

Our head is often a barrier to our lives.  Our little mind tells us to hesitate and fear.  But if we listen to our heart…well, that’s a different story.