Be Impeccable With Your Word
Don’t Take Anything Personally
Don’t Make Assumptions
Always Do Your Best
These are the four agreements as written about in the book The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
I do live my life this way. Maybe not exactly as described in the book. But the statements are strong. Very strong. Very courageous. Empowering.
For me, the four agreements, or statements, are all kind of Buddhist in nature. Just let life flow. Mindfulness. Be aware of the present moment. Isn’t that all we really have? Past is gone, future may never be.
Be Impeccable With Your Word.
Let’s admit it, we are all human. Our tendency is to re-act (to play back a situation, to take action). Let’s learn to step back, pause, breath… and take our time before speaking. Speak from the heart, not from emotion. Maybe this needs a little clarification. The heart is who we are, our higher self. Emotion is the ego screaming…”Listen to me!!!”. Before I speak, I go over it in my head, write it down if I need to, and ponder the question “Is this from a place of love? What would love say?” Take the time. Let love speak. And again by love I mean; our authentic self, our light shining outward (and whatever works… Spirit, Creator, God, Universe).
Don’t Take Anything Personally.
We are all individuals. Just as snowflakes, none of us are the same. At any given moment we are different from the moment we were before. Everyone has the right to be who they are, at any given moment. What we feel one moment may not be our “truth” the next. We are in a different space. Every moment we are different. The best we can do is to be ourselves. To be impeccable in our word, in the moment. This is not to say we are not responsible for our actions. Our actions will cause reactions or responses in others. This is the “butterfly principle” or “the ripple effect”. Everything we do or say or think is energy and shifts energy elsewhere. So when someone responds.. .step back, breath, think about your words… and then respond, not react. Don’t take it personally, let the other person be who they are.
Don’t Make Assumptions.
Because each one of these builds on the other, I think it’s getting easier to share my feelings on each. Assumptions or expectations are the fast-track to disappointment. We are individuals, right? To assume that someone else will react or respond in a certain way that pleases us… is like walking into a sand trap. We find our self sinking slowly into into the abyss. Let go. Enjoy the moment.
“As soon as we attempt to label or define (change or control) something, we take away from the beauty and mystery that first attracted us.”
Always Do Your Best.
That’s really all we have to strive for… to be our best. We don’t have to be better than anyone else. Remember the snowflake? We are all part of the whole. Whatever, whoever we are, adds to the whole. If we think about the other previous three “agreements”, this one falls into place. Let go of judgment about yourself. We are all human. Forgive yourself. Do your best in the present moment.
And….
Here’s my Fifth Agreement…
Always Be True To Yourself.
We live in society, community, so we do have personal responsibilities. But, the most important thing is to be true to yourself. If you are not true to yourself, no one else will be either. Stand proud and walk your path. If you are not hurting yourself or anyone else… being true to yourself and walking your path is freedom. Isn’t that what life is about?