Thursday, April 25, 2013

V is for . . . Vows

Image courtesy: Raj Manchekar
Sweetie pies, welcome back to your lessons.

V is for Vinegar in your book, La Niña. Ah, the very mention of the word causes your face to scrunch up. El Niño is no different. I can still recall the look on his face when I dipped a tip of my finger in vinegar and placed it on his tongue.

You asked me once, La Niña, why I needed to stock vinegar in our kitchen at all. You see, my girl, vinegar, though sour of taste, is an excellent preservative with many uses in cooking and even baking.

When you think about it, you'll realise that vinegar is not too far removed from my V word today, Vows. A vow is a solemn promise that you make, committing yourself to some action. Keeping a vow is very tough and may sometimes leave a sour taste in your mind, but a vow lived up to is what preserves marriages, relationships, friendships and workplace harmony.

Most people make vows and promises, without a second thought. They rarely think about the implications of what they have vowed, whether they will be able to fulfill them, whether they are willing to do what it takes to fulfill them.

My beloveds, think twice, think things through, before making a promise. Think about the consequences of not being able to keep your promises.

If the promises that you make are believed, it is because you are trusted. The promise itself has nothing to do with it. It gains value from your character, not from the words you use. Whenever you make a promise to someone, be so honourable as to treat the promise as it were a debt you owed that person.

Whether the vow was made verbally and casually or whether you signed on the dotted line in the presence of witnesses is irrelevant. Nor does it matter if a suitably well-paid lawyer is able to bail you out or not. What matters is that your failure to deliver the goods marks you as a person that does not deserve to be trusted.


Make sure you are calm and cool-headed when you make a vow. The time when you are upset or angry or even very happy is not the time to make a promise.


Above all, don't be tempted to wriggle out of a promise you made because there is no one to hold you to it. There is One, whose promises are never broken, who watches everything. 


My wish for you is that you may be slow to make a promise, yet quick in keeping it. And that you may be no less respectful of the vows you make to yourself.

That's all for today. See you tomorrow.




 

18 comments:

  1. What an imperative lesson today. Trust forms the foundation of any relationship and vows keep that strengthened. Great post!

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  2. Vows and promises are to be kept, not to be broken.

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  3. 2 Quotes which mirror your thoughts in this post...Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm.
    Promises are like crying babies in a theater, they should be carried out at once.
    A wonderful lesson today! :)

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  4. I seriously refrain from taking any vows... my will power is horrible !

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  5. Sometimes the vows we make to ourselves are the hardest to keep because we don't place a high enough value on our own goals and dreams. We need to feel that same sense of obligation that we feel toward others.

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  6. So true that promises nowadays are given all to casually. Wonderful lesson!

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  7. This post reminded me of my dad - he always said to me that integrity was one of the highest virtues a man could possess. Nice one.

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  8. So needed because we are living in times when vows are just empty words sometimes.

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  9. This is one thing I always think twice before doing. I am a firm believer in "Never to break a promise".

    Wonderful post! :)

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  10. This reminded me a famous song from taal
    Kariyena kabhi waada Kisise kariyena !! I think deep when ever I read ur posts Cynthia
    They come handy to me many times !
    If u can't keep the promise never make one

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  11. Please do not stop posting these even after the challenge ends. That is all I ask of you :)

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  12. What a lesson from vinegar, can never forget, thanks for sharing !

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  13. I do value a vow...and get jittery when I am not able to fulfill a promise in time.

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  14. Coming back to your space for daily words of wisdom is becoming a habit of sorts:)Thanks for sharing.

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  15. The way you connect the dots is so charming . Your kids are lucky to have a Mom like you . I am sure they'll grow up to be wonderful human beings :)

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  16. This is one of your more profound lessons. I love the way you found two seemingly very different words that don't seem to have any link at all, and wove them together so beautifully.

    #atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

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  17. Oblique cross referencing, but worked brilliantly. Vows are the bedrock of any relationship, especially with oneself. And the One always watches out for those who hold on to their words seriously.

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