Protecting Our Flame

Something that came up in discussion this past week is the tendency to be enthusiastic about the things that are inspiring which can lead people to overcommit before they are ready.  It is natural to be excited and to dive into new things, but maybe more important is a steadily growing and sustained commitment to new practices or disciplines.

Take exercise as very mundane example.  A person is motivated to start a new exercise program because they will be attending a class reunion, and they really want to be in shape before they meet their old friends again to give a good impression and show everyone how successful they are.  So for a few months they are really committed to exercise and they are very disciplined in maintaining their exercise regimen.  However, after the reunion is done, they slack off and they don't continue to work so hard now that the event of the reunion is behind them.

For all of the disciplines or practices that we might be be taken by, it is easy to get fired up and commit heavily short term to certain new ideas or philosophies while intense interest and inspiration lasts.  However, personally I think it is much more powerful to take a more measured approach.  A commitment  to a little bit of practice for many years can produce very fulfilling results over time.  We can compare it to saving money and generating compound interest.  We are all told that we can amass a fortune if we just start saving a little bit each week and let it grow steadily over time.  This is also so with meditation practice, mindfulness practices or efforts to improve our character.

On the other hand, what is gained if we enthusiastically begin such things but we don't continue because the regimen or expectations were unsustainable?  To improve ourselves or make fundamental changes to the way we live takes time.  Therefore, I am an advocate of a patient and temperate approach.  Be careful of the commitments that you make, think about them, and take them seriously when you choose to make them.

Taking advice from Shantideva's book... those endeavors of real value, and the progress that we make in pursuing them, should be defended and protected and not allowed to be lost.