Commitments not Choices

A river does not decide in advance
Where to flow
It simultaneously both shapes and is shaped
By landscape
As it creates and follows
Paths of least resistance
From sky to sea
And back again
.
So it is
With the unfolding of human lives
We continually make commitments
As we dwell in the current
From there to here to there
That irreversibly influence
How our lives evolve
In response to inviting possibility
.
It’s easy
When looking back
To view these commitments
As choices
Made by ourselves
Leading to feelings of credit or blame
Over what we do not control
But can only attune with
Receptively and responsively
As we make our way
Between entry and exit
In spirals of life
.
But that’s a mistake
That we can live to regret
As pride and shame
Become the name of our game
In place of acceptance of where we are
In the flow of life