Promises make me smile. I smile because they make me consistent and true to my word, and every time that I find myself living out a promise, I smile from the inside out. As Ovid once said, “anyone can be rich in promises,” but it is those who fulfill and honor promises that are actually rich.
This is what happens to a Christmas tree without water. Lesson learned.
I have a bad habit of killing plants, or rather, I have a bad memory in watering plants that others have put in my care. Last Christmas, this amnesia was particularly evident in how my Christmas tree ended up looking on Christmas morning. It’s not my fault; I didn’t know that you needed to water Christmas trees. And while that may sound ridiculous to you, I grew up with a fake tree because of my brother’s allergies, so watering a Christmas tree simply never crossed my mind. As a result, this year, Brandon made me promise to water the tree. Not only did I promise, but I wrote out a contract to myself to do so, as I want to make Brandon proud when he visits on the weekends to see how happy and healthy our tree is. Promises keep us to doing the things that we want to do when we don’t always want to do them.
Have the courage to promise yourself something and to follow through.
Fulfilling promises feeds the soul. Whether I’m watering a Christmas tree, or separating my recyclables for my environmentally passionate friend Melissa, a promise brings out the best in me. I have promises to myself as well, promises of growth, self-reflection, patience, discipline and love. We all owe it ourselves to promise ourselves to make daily effort to become the very best versions of ourselves possible. Never, and I repeat, never, break a promise to yourself, for that is the ultimate betrayal.
Promise yourself a future of choosing happiness, health and growth, and more than anything, have the courage to promise yourself something and to follow through on it.