They say make commitment your way to reach your goal and it will lead you to creation. Commitment is a lifestyle that should be taught since birth in words or actions. It is not restricted on specific incidents or persons; it is rather a main trait of a person. Someone has said that if you evade all your obligations, then your life would be useless as commitment should be your lifestyle. A committed person would not break his promises, words or agreements.
The tale of the broken promise
I have read a German tale about a broken promise at Hamlelin. Parents are telling this story to their children in order to make them learn that they should keep their promises and here is the tale: Long time ago, there was an evasion of rats over the city and they attacked all animals: the dogs, cats and even children. The governor of the city held a meeting with all the officials to find a solution to the problem, yet they could not. Meanwhile, a strange man came to the city. He was so tall with a wrinkled face and colorful clothes holding a wondrous flute. He asked to meet the governor. When they met, he asked him about his reward if he managed to save the city from rats. The governor offered him a large sum of money. The flutiest was so joyous and he began playing exotic music that affected the rats someway that they followed him to the river. He got on a ship and continued playing the music till last rat fell in the river.
The flutiest went back to the city to receive his financial reward. The governor gave him a sum of money which was less than what they agreed upon. Accordingly, the flutiest went back to the city playing lovely music to children leading them to Copen Hill where they fell down. The families of children offered the flutiest all their wealth to bring their children back. However, the flutiest answered them that this was the fruit of breaking promises. It is said that at one of the old houses wall was written that, in July of 1284, a flutiest drove 130 children to a place near Copen hill where they were lost. It is maybe a fairytale; however it depicts the eventual and irreplaceable loss that the promise-breaker would face as a result of his deed, most importantly, he would lose people’s trust and his personal dignity.
One of the characteristics of a committed person is that he adheres to the system in all the facilities. He adheres to the traffic rules and never skips his place in a row. He will also be committed to the environment and would never disturb the beauty of a place by throwing rubbish in it, but rather he may add to its beauty by growing trees.
A committed person is always punctual and he believes in the wise saying that “punctuality is the kings’ trait”. He also realizes that wasting one hour of his time would lead him to lose his life. He would take care of others’ time realizing that they have other duties to fulfill. To be continued…..
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
