A Vow

why just wait for marriage

What is it to have a commitment, to be devoted to something, a solemn promise… Mary Oliver says our actions reveal our devotion. So now I ask you to consider what you are devoted to, and what actions you make and are willing to make for this devotion. Will you make a vow in this life? Why save a vow for marriage, why not wake up every day to repeat your vow.

A vow is a compass. A vow steadies us when we are lost, returns us to our North Star when we are wandering, holds us when we are tired. It does not need an altar or an audience; it needs only our breath, our commitment, and our willingness to say: this is what I give myself to.

So before I share mine, I invite you to ask: What will you make a vow to be and to become in this one wild, brief life? To love, to truth, to kindness, to art, to justice, to yourself? What will you promise, again and again, until the promise becomes the way you walk through the world? And I pray that these words penetrate deeply into every cell of your body.

I vow to build community. To nourish community. To remember that I am nothing without my community.

I vow to work, not to get things done, but to nourish the land and to dwell in the present moment that is currently here. The work of liberation may take thousands of lifetimes, but also, maybe it is already complete - in each other. In caring for each other. Build loving community everywhere I go, I have faith we will go very far.

I vow to offer the world an engaged, applied, and effective art of living, filled with methods to transform and heal suffering. I vow to live in such a way that inspires others to transform and heal their own life. I vow to live in such a way that the Earth can have a future. I vow to consume mindfully, and to practice endlessly. To practice in such a way that my presence gives rise to a mind and a heart full of love and peace. I vow to be present in all places. I vow to tell stories and share art that is medicinal. Art that is joyous. Art that helps release the bonds of attachment.

I vow to leave rooms cleaner than I found them. I vow to have a healthy amount of delusion and a healthy amount of audacity, knowing that these vows are fully supported by my ancestors and all the torch-bearers of peace before and after me. Rather than hoping for it to manifest in a distant future, I know it is here now.

I vow to not cling to things to justify my worth. I vow to wear the robe of liberation everywhere I go. To carry it life after life. To build a legacy spreading this art of living, with determination, patience, and love.

I vow to do my best to not be caught up in status, fame, money, and praise. I vow to generously let go of what lifts me up and drops me down, to let go of all things that are impermanent and ephemeral. Myself included.

These are great aspirations and a huge vow for the benefit of all beings - more boundless than time and space itself. May I live a benevolent and generous life. May I protect all beings, even the smallest ones. May these words embrace me and penetrate deeply into every cell of my body. May each step be an opportunity, and may I have the wisdom and ability to see and receive the medicine when it presents itself.

If you find medicine here, consider buying me a coffee and/or supporting me for just $2.75-$5 a month! Also - now’s a perfect time to buy a copy of Brown Enough in Paperback (one for you, one for the homie, one for the neighborhood library) and listen to Brown Enough Podcast, Season 3!

What is your vow?