Many years ago, in the heyday of the New Age movement, when many people were encouraged to follow a variety of personal development programs and gurus, the following quote was often found in writings and speeches. During those years, many teachings were applied to material success and manifestations of personal desires.
However, when I ran across the quote in my files, I was reminded of its greater truths.
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:
The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way.
I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.’”
W.H. Murray in The Scottish Himalayan Expedition
The concept of Something Greater used in the quote is Providence, which can be defined loosely as “the care, guardianship, and control exercised by a deity; divine direction.”1 There are wonderful attributes for this force known as Divine Providence or God in the Judeo-Christian tradition, including all-sustaining and directing care, wise benevolence, and knowing God is for us.
Accepting Providence as a force of Something Greater can be the same as saying a resounding ‘Yes!” to Albert Einstein’s question: Do you believe the Universe is friendly - not hostile? In the full statement, Einstein posits that this is the most important decision we make. The decision and its belief colors everything we do.
Imagine Providence as the workings of the Universe – the laws of how things move, grow, die and transform – as a huge machine that has an ageless, complex process. We are connected to it whether we like it or not. Our bodies, the air, water, soil, animals and food we eat operate within this machine. Socrates argues that a beneficent providence is manifest in the construction of the human organs.2
Thinking like this, I wondered how we could apply the concepts of this quote to our commitment to Life itself. What if we committed to being and acting from the conviction that society as we know it could definitely change for the better for more people and life on the planet?
Things don’t have to be the way they are. None of us needs a completed solution fully defined before we can commit to believing in a life-affirming society. It requires our conscious participation and accepting that small changes work miracles. We each need to rise above the negative and destructive conversations and situations being broadcast around us. Engaging those makes us part of the problem.
What if we just committed to the possibility? We could take that big honking belief and act from it in all we do. It could become an energetic, unseen power moving us forward. And Providence would then move forward with us in this commitment.
It is just the commitment – a shift in perspective. We commit to knowing it is possible for more good to prevail and we walk that truth. How do we apply this practice of connection to Something Greater to the changes we want to see in the world around us? Forget changing the whole world. Change your world; change yourself to be aligned with the beneficent good described as Providence or your Something Greater and act from there.
Each of us brings something unique and wonderful to our corner of the world that can radiate out. Trust yourself and trust the Universe – the laws of how things move, grow, die and transform. Not man’s limited mechanical interpretations; trust your intuitive knowing of what is good and thriving.
Sometimes I think I focus on all that is wrong, because it is easier than figuring out how to fix things. It makes me feel part of something to talk with like-minded people about all the death-promoting activities out there. There is a superiority in knowing how wrong something is – even if it later turns out my understanding of a situation was incorrect. It is hard to rise above the prevalent behaviors. It is this challenge that makes the effort important and worthwhile.
We can create small pockets of this goodness. We can commit to a path of hope and decency and focus on that. The machine of Life will turn in that direction and away from destruction, violence and the deadening that prevails in our current societies.
And whether or not you believe in Providence – Divine or the machine of the Universe – it will move with you to bring all manner of opportunities and events that may seem miraculous. You must commit wholeheartedly and imagine what good you can do.
1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
2. Xenophon's "Memorabilia," i. 4, § 2
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Excellent commentary Laura. Thank you for putting into words what I have been witnessing and experiencing in my own life (especially lately) with awe and gratitude. I'm sharing this with others I am close to. I think they will also find the oasis of wisdom, of that which you are seeing & sharing. Please keep up the good work(s)!