A Commitment of Love and Courage

The story is told of a little girl named Liz who suffered from a serious disease. Her best chance of recovery would be to receive a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother.

The doctor explained the situation to Liz's little brother. He asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

The young boy hesitated for a brief moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz."

During the transfusion, the boy lay in the bed next to his sister. He smiled when he saw color returning to her cheeks. But then his smile started to fade, and his face grew pale.

With a trembling voice, he looked up at the doctor and asked, "Will I start to die now already?"

The little boy had misunderstood the doctor's explanation. He thought that he would need to give all of his blood to save his sister...and he would have done so.

The realization of our goals, dreams and deepest desires depends greatly on commitment -- taking the step from the familiar into the new, putting our faith on the line to honor our purpose, our personal contract with life. Until we commit and act, we only resolve. Once we commit and begin moving forward, the resolution becomes unnecessary.

Without commitment, we remain chained to resolutions and visions, living perpetually outside of the present moment. Though we need to envision with gratitude our goals and their attainment, it is now we must take action. Only in the present moment will we realize the soul's tremendous courage to follow our own true north -- to manifest the reason we are alive.

Commitment is always the beginning of service to others. Often, we need to release fear to step over that line. We will need to look clearly at things we would rather not see or accept. I believe courage arises ultimately from love. Its motivation is inspired by the need to serve not only the self, but all of mankind.

Today, we are witnessing a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion for those in Asia who have endured unimaginable, heartbreaking devastation and loss. Tears flow and prayers are said for people we've never met.

Commitments to service and selfless acts of love are taking place globally on an unprecedented scale. Even in extreme tragedy, our "courage of the soul" that Henry van Dyke mentioned flourishes around the globe as many nationalities join together to help those in need.

We will not, at a human level, understand why this suffering must occur. We cannot remove the pain or reunite all of the grieving families. Only God will do that. However, there are a few things we can do.

First, we can become acutely aware that we are not guaranteed the next ten minutes on this earth. We can grow in appreciation for the sanctity of life and realize how capable we are of reaching out with empathy and authentic compassion.

We can also commit to honor the worth and dignity of all fellow humans who suffer. All of us can serve -- if not with donations, with acts of kindness and prayer. It is a choice we must make for the future of our planet -- a commitment to serve and be responsible for the welfare of each other.

Wishing you many blessings!

Steve Brunkhorst

Copyright 2004 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve coaches people to help them revitalize their inner spark, access their natural talents, and design strategies to reach their personal and career goals. Get Steve's motivational and inspirational mini-zine, Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, by visiting http://AcheiveEzine.com