October 18, 2009

• Involved or Committed

  Jesse is the high school’s starting halfback. He loves football, but he’s not the star of the team, he’s just above average. He’s good-looking, smarter than their starting linebacker, but mostly just the average junior.
  Sarah plays the clarinet for the school marching band. She’s an exceptional clarinetist, but right now, that’s all she thinks she has going for her. She’s a pretty brunette, skinny, but not a bean pole, and it’s her junior year.This is only her second year at this school, so she is still considered a “new girl.”
  After a win for the football team, Sarah is invited by a friend to go to the party. Normally a shy girl, she started to decline, but after thinking about another boring night at home, she decided she would tag along. “Just for a little while,” she assured herself.
  She will never forget that party. That is where she met Jesse!
  And anyone could finish the rest of this story. Or, at least the Disney version. They fell in love, dated, and Jesse got into MSU (the best college for football, or course. ) and Sarah went there too because I’m sure they have a darn good clarinet class, and they ended up getting married and having 6 kids together. Yay!!!!
  But that’s Disney. Welcome to real life:
  They started dating. It actually worked out, too. All through their senior year, you barely saw one without the other. Jesse did get into college for football, but in the nearby, not-so-great one. Sarah just stuck with the community college. After their freshmen years, they decided they were ready. They got married.
  Fast forward a year or two. They share an apartment. They hardly ever have time for each other. No more romantic dinners, or surprise flowers. The apartment begins to seem too small. They start getting grumpy, bickering more often than not.
  Then, something happens. The apartment complex raises their prices, one of them loses their job, anything. And suddenly, they’ve fallen out of love. Before the five year mark, they’ve filed for divorce.
  “So what,” you say. “Just a relationship that didn’t work out. They’ll get over it.” Well, you’ve missed the point. At one time, these two loved each other. So much so that they took vows to stay with each other through anything.  Why is it that the first version of this story became so unbelievable.How did the second version, the “real life” one, become the norm for America?

  I believe it may be the result of the lack of commitment.

  Commitment may be defined as “the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled.” Some synonyms are “duty,” “must,” “need,” “ought,” “pledge,” “promise,” “responsibility,” and “vow.” A few antonyms are
  “broken promise,” or “denial.”
  It’s not a word you hear to much anymore.
  When you love someone, and I mean real love, the state of mind one, not the feeling, you are determined to stay with them no matter what. You are committed to a relationship with them.

  But there’s another word that’s replaced it. If not in word, than in deed.

  Involved is defined as ” being affected or implicated.” Synonyms: “complex,” “confusing,” “difficult,” and  “tangled.” Antonyms: “easy,” “simple,” and “uncomplicated.”

  How in the world did these two get mixed up?
  How many times do you hear statements like these:”Are you involved with anyone?” “Oh, I’m involved with ___” “Yeah, we’re dating, but it’s complicated.”
  Why would you want to use the word “involved” when referring to someone you supposedly love? “Being affected or implicated?” Sounds like something having to do with a crime!

  An old saying says “In a ham-and-egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.”

  I know, hoe cliche, the Christian doing a blog against divorce. But I’m going to steer this ship in a different direction.
  See, this priciple doesn’t apply to just marrige. It goes for everthing,
  Look at how many Xangans are leaving. At one time, they joined this site to do something they enjoyed, but a little trouble comes, an unexpected problem pops up, and they jump ship.
  What about education? How many people start out with a fire in their eye, ready to take on their dream, but when they realize how hard it’ll be, they just…stop.
  How about diets? Actually, we’re not gonna go there.
  But you get my point. Lack of committment in adults today is teaching kids that it it okay to give up. You can be lazy and quit, so long as life is easy. Just get involved in your programs. “committment” is to hard to spell anyway.

  Well, what about you? What are you committed to? Anything at all? Are you just involved with someone or something, too lazy or scared to step up to the plate? Or are you committed?

  Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the ‘right stuff’ to turn our dreams into reality.

  There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

  Commitment in the face of conflict produces character

  Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans

  The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

  When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible.

  
  
  (Quotes found at Thinkexist.com.)

  • 9:50 pm
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