This post is first in a series, I think. I seem to be on a roll with themes lately, and this is one I wrote a couple of weeks ago.
Devotion comes in many forms. I can be devoted to more than one thing at a time and still be perfectly able to function. I can be devoted to one thing at a time and not fault myself for concentration.
At the moment, I am devoted to my family, my writing career, helping out around the house, my garden, my collections, and paying off my credit card bills. I can be devoted to all these things at once and not have any one or any thing feel lacking.
Devotion, according to Dictionary.com is defined as thus:
Ardent, often selfless affection and dedication, as to a person or principle.
Selfless is defined as thus:
Having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself; unselfish.
I would do anything for my family. But not a single person in my family would ask me to give up something to please them, like my writing career. Because they know that's it's important to me, and they unselfishly support me in my quest to make it a writing career.
I think quite a few marriages end up in divorce because of selfishness. What began as 'us' turns into me vs. you with both sides using petty excuses to get their way. If you were truly unselfish, it wouldn't matter if your partner in life wanted to be a writer; you would love them all the more for it. And that is how it should be. Supportive. Equal. Sure, with incidents of selfishness... I would be the first one to admit that one too many family functions have had me muttering under my breath at times. Nowadays, though, as I look back over my life, I realize that family functions are truly few and far between, and that I owe my family quite a lot. And I can be selfless for them... because they would be selfless for me. And have been, quite a few times.
But in truth, our time is what we make of it, and if we are not the masters of our own time, what can we be masters of? If a difficult day job gets you down, remember that you and no one else decided to take that job, for whatever reason. And taking your frustration out on someone else doesn't make the original problem go away.
Insight's a wonderful thing, and usually happens after the fact. But it's only when you realize the truth that you can move onward and upward, and away from the mistakes of the past.
It's taken me a while to realize how naive I was before. I'm sure I'll be naive again. But I've learned my lesson in certain respects, and I will remember what I have discovered about myself and about my devotions.
Devotion comes in many forms. I can be devoted to more than one thing at a time and still be perfectly able to function. I can be devoted to one thing at a time and not fault myself for concentration.
At the moment, I am devoted to my family, my writing career, helping out around the house, my garden, my collections, and paying off my credit card bills. I can be devoted to all these things at once and not have any one or any thing feel lacking.
Devotion, according to Dictionary.com is defined as thus:
Ardent, often selfless affection and dedication, as to a person or principle.
Selfless is defined as thus:
Having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself; unselfish.
I would do anything for my family. But not a single person in my family would ask me to give up something to please them, like my writing career. Because they know that's it's important to me, and they unselfishly support me in my quest to make it a writing career.
I think quite a few marriages end up in divorce because of selfishness. What began as 'us' turns into me vs. you with both sides using petty excuses to get their way. If you were truly unselfish, it wouldn't matter if your partner in life wanted to be a writer; you would love them all the more for it. And that is how it should be. Supportive. Equal. Sure, with incidents of selfishness... I would be the first one to admit that one too many family functions have had me muttering under my breath at times. Nowadays, though, as I look back over my life, I realize that family functions are truly few and far between, and that I owe my family quite a lot. And I can be selfless for them... because they would be selfless for me. And have been, quite a few times.
But in truth, our time is what we make of it, and if we are not the masters of our own time, what can we be masters of? If a difficult day job gets you down, remember that you and no one else decided to take that job, for whatever reason. And taking your frustration out on someone else doesn't make the original problem go away.
Insight's a wonderful thing, and usually happens after the fact. But it's only when you realize the truth that you can move onward and upward, and away from the mistakes of the past.
It's taken me a while to realize how naive I was before. I'm sure I'll be naive again. But I've learned my lesson in certain respects, and I will remember what I have discovered about myself and about my devotions.
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