Greetings All ~
After preparing an Easter/Spring feast for the family, I'm a little tired. But it's a good tired. Making trays of lasagna, a huge salad, garlic bread, getting drinks ready, setting the table, putting the house right and the ensuing clean up has worn me out. But now the place has cheerful flowers everywhere. The fridge has tasty leftovers. A day of stimulating conversation infused with love and laughter is definitely worth the effort.
It always starts with part of me feeling as if all this must be done out of obligation. But upon a closer look, it's actually commitment. As the matriarch, it is my job to put together these family events. And each time I do it—maybe in a slightly grumbling fashion—I reap the the best and final pleasures. Sometimes the benefits are fairly immediate, like today. Other times, it can take awhile to understand the gains.
Playing music was most likely the first time I felt the benefits of commitment. The drudgery of playing scales on the piano, which I learned from the age of six, seemed mindless and interminable. Then I would be presented with a new piece of music and my fingers could fly. The sheer joy of playing the instrument was revealed.
I can't count the number of times my yoga teacher would assign me a task and I'd wonder, "Why me?" Then, sometime later I'd be in a situation where the experience of that assignment made the situation easier to handle.
Gardening, staying fit through diet and exercise, nurturing relationships with friends and family, even writing a weekly email such as this, all require commitment. Commitment is the foundation for our pleasures. It prepares the soil, both literally and metaphorically. It is key to that sense of accomplishment we humans strive for over and over again. And often, the final harvest is tastier than we imagined. Those tomatoes burst with the flavor of our time and energy. Noticing how long you've committed to a relationship (and how longthey'vecommitted to you) is a most gratifying realization. It's my purest pleasure and most valued harvest.
We have gifted each other with pleasure over the years by our commitment to one another. For that, I am ever grateful and gratified.
I am now sowing new seeds for another type of harvest —which shall remain unnamed for the moment. That said, I would be honored to hear what your latest is!
All Good Things,
Vicky Rose