A miniseries of articles which are partly personal history, partly ramble, but wholly geared to prompt more thought...
Neither faith nor trust holds value unless there is devotion behind them. More often than not one sees the word devotion and is inclined to think of ardent love. Or of religious activity such as prayer. Devotion - to devote time to - is also to have dedication and commitment. In the matter of faith, it is clear that devotion might apply, but how so in trust?
It takes time to develop trust. Particularly the one who wishes to be trusted must invest their time and effort in the one whose trust must be gained. This requires patience... dedication and commitment.
The one who wishes to trust again after a disappointment must decide to dedicate themselves to recovering and committing to process.
Nothing worth having in life can be obtained or retained without devotion to purpose. If we are studying for school certificates or university degrees, we must be focused and determined. Success will depend upon our devotion to the subject. If we keep animals as pets, they require of us a level of devotion for their wellbeing - and will return that devotion tenfold. We may have someone in the family who requires more support than others and that, in turn, requires of us (and others) a degree of devotion.
Devotion has about it the element of duty. One can be devoted but not necessarily display Love. However, if the element of Love is added, devotion becomes something golden. There is no burden from it and the reward within our psyche is not to be disregarded. We may do things for others, but be clear, it is for ourselves also. Is it not the case that the more spontaneously you give of yourself, the better you feel about it after?
A number of times when I was in health practice, clients would seek to thank and praise... but I would always say, without guile or falsehood, that I gained as much as I gave. The reward of knowing that one has acted to the best of one's ability on behalf of another is sweet indeed. Knowing that the 'doing' comes from a place which is not related to the body or the ego is important though. Else that very ego becomes a hurdle!
Acts of devotion, then, are not about making a show of charity, religious fervour, selfless caring - those are just the external expression. Acts of devotion are rarely planned. They have no ego. They are done and we move on without attaching to an expectation of outcomes.
Devotion is the sugar of life.
Neither faith nor trust holds value unless there is devotion behind them. More often than not one sees the word devotion and is inclined to think of ardent love. Or of religious activity such as prayer. Devotion - to devote time to - is also to have dedication and commitment. In the matter of faith, it is clear that devotion might apply, but how so in trust?It takes time to develop trust. Particularly the one who wishes to be trusted must invest their time and effort in the one whose trust must be gained. This requires patience... dedication and commitment.
The one who wishes to trust again after a disappointment must decide to dedicate themselves to recovering and committing to process.
Nothing worth having in life can be obtained or retained without devotion to purpose. If we are studying for school certificates or university degrees, we must be focused and determined. Success will depend upon our devotion to the subject. If we keep animals as pets, they require of us a level of devotion for their wellbeing - and will return that devotion tenfold. We may have someone in the family who requires more support than others and that, in turn, requires of us (and others) a degree of devotion.
Devotion has about it the element of duty. One can be devoted but not necessarily display Love. However, if the element of Love is added, devotion becomes something golden. There is no burden from it and the reward within our psyche is not to be disregarded. We may do things for others, but be clear, it is for ourselves also. Is it not the case that the more spontaneously you give of yourself, the better you feel about it after?
A number of times when I was in health practice, clients would seek to thank and praise... but I would always say, without guile or falsehood, that I gained as much as I gave. The reward of knowing that one has acted to the best of one's ability on behalf of another is sweet indeed. Knowing that the 'doing' comes from a place which is not related to the body or the ego is important though. Else that very ego becomes a hurdle!
Acts of devotion, then, are not about making a show of charity, religious fervour, selfless caring - those are just the external expression. Acts of devotion are rarely planned. They have no ego. They are done and we move on without attaching to an expectation of outcomes.
Devotion is the sugar of life.
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The paragraph directly above the photo and the last line speak volumes!!
ReplyDeleteHugs HiC
I must say I had never thought of devotion outside a religious context. This did give me much to ponder.
ReplyDeleteWe have to agree with both of the above commenters. Your words always manage to make us think deeply.
ReplyDeleteThere no such thing is total devotion, but when we have a chance to work on devotion it comes in all forms.
ReplyDeleteGod people do work miracles.
Coffee is on
As so often on these Sunday posts, plenty of food for thought.
ReplyDeleteWell Said, and Amen to all of it. Agree 100 percent with every word you said. also like Lady I had not really thought about devotion like this, but always as part of religion. that said, this is all exactly what i believe, just did not know how to say it. this pertains to my weight loss over the past 2 years, and it takes complete devotion and commitment to change any thing in our lives from what it is to what we want it to be...
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/KP7ebuH7pAg My favorite gospel song.
ReplyDeleteHari OM
DeleteThank you Janice! Yxx