January 5, 2011

• Promises

  Lips singing in circles. What does it mean to make a promise to someone? Or to accept one? 愛你一生一世 (love you for life). Heard that before? Promises are made to assure someone that there is certainty in the future, that they will ensure a result with their own power. Promises are made for those afraid of loss, who have lost everything, or want everything.

  Perhaps I am being too harsh, perhaps I should say they are made for those afraid of losing something important, or have lost something, or want something. And they entrust their future happiness into the hands of another.

  That differs from commitment. Commitment is to “bind or obligate, as by pledge or assurance; pledge: to commit oneself to a promise; to be committed to a course of action.”

  So to promise someone, is really to just assure someone that the future will be to their liking. Broken promises… sound kind of silly in that sense. Broken commitments seem much more fitting.

  But why would anyone ask another to commit themselves to ensure their own happiness? Shouldn’t you first commit yourself? The future is uncertain. The only constants you can be sure of, are the choices you make.
  Commit yourself, and you won’t need the promises of another to make you happy.

  • 11:42 am
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