Weaving The Dream

Less than two weeks ago, Bob and I returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh to join in the celebration of his oldest sister’s 50th wedding anniversary.

Weddings are about a couple making a (usually) sacred commitment to love one another through thick and thin, through the ups and downs of life, love, and, for many, through the challenges of parenthood.

50th wedding anniversaries are about honoring and celebrating a couple for making those long-ago weddings vows a living and lasting reality.  We share with them the recognition of the rewards and satisfaction of fulfilling that commitment.

At a wedding ceremony, we honor the romantic and sacred dimensions of love, and the courage of each partner to commit to one another, ideally, ‘til death us do part.

At a 50th wedding anniversary, we stand in awe at the couple’s achievement—to work, to sacrifice, to grit teeth, to dry tears, to support, to believe in, to have and to hold, even when the polish on the romance gets dusty and courage flags…

Sometimes when we commit to something, like a relationship, a job, writing a book, we do so with the naiveté of the untried and the untested.  We commit with optimism, with hope, and with faith in happy endings.

Then we experience the work that the commitment requires.  The true grit. The getting-up-every-day-and-working-at-it-no-matter-what determination that a job, a relationship, or our creative work requires—even when our romance with the project, or relationship may wane, and our courage for seeing it through may weaken.  We may wonder, “Is this really that important?  Is this really what I want?  WHY AM I DOING THIS?”

We have our reasons—supporting ourselves and our children, having a career, leaving a legacy, making a difference in the world, keeping our word.  But bottom line?  We do it because something in our hearts and souls long for the deepest satisfaction of knowing we honored our commitment and ourselves by following through to the happy ending.

I watched Bob’s sister and her husband view a computer montage of photos of their years together, of their kids, and grandchildren growing right along with the marriage.  I watched—as she leaned toward him to whisper something, as he reached out to pat her arm, as she shared a tissue for a shared loss—and I mused on their triumph, on how wonderful, how rewarding it is to have the strength and will and faith to follow through on the significant commitments in our lives. 

Bob and I will celebrate our 36th anniversary in a few weeks.  So I have a sense of what is required to honor significant commitments. And how rewarding it can be.

I want to have the true grit to honor my commitments to my writing and to my coaching as successfully because…bottom line?  My heart and soul longs for that deep satisfaction of honoring myself and my work—all the way to the happy ending.

What about you?  Is there a creative commitment your heart is longing to make and, with true grit, follow through with all the way to your happy ending?