We make commitments. We break commitments. There are times when it feels impossible for us to keep our word to ourselves. The question is, “What do we do after we break our commitment?”

Years ago when I was in the early days of a fast I took a bunch of seedless green grapes and started munching on them. They were good, sweet and juicy. I had eaten a few of the grapes before I remembered I was fasting. I uttered a few choice words which I shall not repeat here and realized I had a dilemma. What do I do now? I had broken my commitment to fast. I could not pretend otherwise. Do I act as if nothing had happened and continue my fast? Do I stop the fast because of this unconscious act of sweet juicy seedless green grape enjoyment. The question puzzled me.

I decided to continue my fast. I had eaten the grapes unconsciously. I became responsible the moment that I knew what I had done. I could make a decision. The same is true when we make a commitment to our creativity. We can break our commitment for many reasons. The question is, “What do we do when we become conscious of breaking our commitment?” I say return to the moment of making the commitment.

Commitments are hard to make and even harder to keep because I know that there is a possibility that I will not fulfill them – so why bother making them. I wonder what breaking my commitments means about me, my ability to keep my word to myself, my ability to stay with something until it manifests. There is no commitment greater than how we love and treat ourselves, even a creative one. I can let breaking my commitment be a moment and not a lifetime experience. I can acknowledge the moment, accept what I’ve done, and then choose whether I want to continue my commitment or let it go. Keeping our commitments to ourselves is important and being easy on ourselves when we don’t is also important. The best policy is to do whatever works and allows us to keep expressing our creativity.