Wednesday, January 27, 2010

As Good As Our Word

Promises.


Ever since human beings could communicate with one another, we have been making promises.

Some are kept, some are not.

Those who keep their promises are regarded as people of integrity, while those who don’t keep their promises are regarded as people who at best can’t be taken seriously and at worst can’t be trusted.

I am in Mexico City now on business. I decided to take this trip because I was here one year ago to offer promises to some clients, and I need to clarify why these promises have not been kept.

My personal integrity brought me back here for that.

The other day I was served my afternoon glass of wine by a gentleman who shares the same name with me. We enjoyed a very good conversation, on which he commented he would like to continue. I had to leave for a meeting, but I casually stated that I would be back at 3:00 the following day.

The following day, I walked in at 3:00 and sat in a chair at the far corner of the lounge. Roberto came over and welcomed me with the words "you kept your promise!".

I never thought it mattered if I returned.

Sometimes we forget how powerful our words are, and we use them haphazardly or unconsciously, creating expectations that are never fulfilled, leaving disappointment and distrust in our wake.

On a deeper level, there are promises we may have made to ourselves that we don’t remember because they have slipped into our unconscious.

A betrayal of trust, in a personal relationship or in business, may be followed by a promise to ourselves never to trust again.

Without realizing it, we may be fulfilling that promise and wondering why our life looks so grim. Sometimes we do make promises that we simply can not keep, and often they are the promises made with the best intentions, and this is the time of year that we break many or our promises that were made in the form of New Year resolutions.

Upon realizing that we have made a promise that we can no longer be holden to, we can pray to be released from that bond.

By doing so, we clear ourselves of unrealistic connections and patterns, returning ourselves to a clean slate.


Forgiveness.


We can then resolve to remember that our word is sacred and to be very conscious of any promises we make to others, or to ourselves.

We may ask that love, light, and healing be sent to any one who may have suffered from our inability to be true to our word, including ourselves, thereby releasing them from the weight of anger and disappointment.

We can ask for the wisdom to do our best, and from this point forward to be true to our word, promising only what we truly intend to deliver.

The resulting clear conscience and liberated energy will illustrate this one simple truth:

We are only as good as our word.

With love & light,

Rob