Thinking it through…

Staring at the Promise board in the lounge a student laughed and said, I’m signed up but I haven’t made a promise yet. She was so convinced that her promise was either going to be false or unattainable or so attainable it wasn’t really a promise. I figured she wasn’t alone.
It is so common in our culture, particularly the lives we lead as busy east-coasting-Fairfield-county-goers, to talk the talk. We are great at making the gratuitous promise. Not to say there isn't "intent" (more on that in a moment) but rather we speak without consideration. If we remember that our thoughts and words carry as much weight as our actions we might actually speak more thoughtfully. You don't run across the street without looking both ways nor should you speak without contemplation. This is a hard lesson for a blunt-talking Italian girl. I think my father put it best most recently, “you need a filter.” So, when considering my promises, my conversations, my words, I try my best to think before I speak, not only about my own words but the reactions the words may have. On another front, as my life coach said, “You need a calendar.” Well, I have a calendar; I just need to use it. Some of the most mundane promises are the ones I have failed at, the “I’ll be there” promises to which I failed to keep because I forgot to write them down or didn’t realize my inability to keep such promises out of sheer over-scheduling. But “I’ll be there” are some heavy words and can mean so much with a little follow through.
Promiseland Checklist
Filter: almost fits, hard to replace the "off the cuff" look I've worn forever.
Calendar: Check, blackberry is a very helpful little tool.
Intentions clear: hmmmm…

I wish the whole Joint could've had read Lyn's hilarious email to her staff regarding the wonderful excuses we hide behind as "yogins": the full moon, mercury in retrograde, and I am adding INTENTION. I am definitely one of those who overuse the powerful word intention. I use it more as a sarcastic point of reference these days than a truthful process of contemplation. I would need to slow down, breathe deep, let my thoughts calm to fully involve myself in my intentions. When I don’t, shit happens, sometimes I break promises, we all do. We easily move on from a broken promise with the simple excuse of “it wasn't my intention.” Then what were we intending? To prove our inconsistency? To make our word worth zilch? To create an expectation that can't be fulfilled?
I don't believe it is the promise that is inherently wrong, I believe promises can be a powerful tool to help realize one's dreams in the most expanded text and be a better friend on the simplest of terms. It is our process that needs some work. We need to slow down. Let the thoughts move from the jumble of run-on sentences to the well punctuated. Once our thoughts are clearer our words can be spoken with authority. We would make promises we want to strive to keep. We, ourselves, might actually believe what we are saying. Our word would mean something. Our friends would trust us. Our dreams would be reality. It may not start with a promise but the journey towards The PromisedLand is full of them. So how do we slow down and punctuate are thoughts? Great question!
We meditate more. Join your fellow Promis-ers this Saturday. Donna’s Asana Sandwich class will guide you through pranayama and meditation, two invaluable tools to help you make, keep and relish in your promises.