As I write, the Bridge Walk season is still underway and has already been a giant success! We set out to keep 10,000 commitments and we are on track to meet and exceed that goal—amazing!
One of my High 5 Challenge commitments is to learn a new Bemba word every day. Learning Bemba is something I have wanted to do since we began in Kantolomba 10 years ago. When we are in Zambia, I play with new phrases and try them out with our friends, but I have never made it a conscious practice.
I made the commitment to learn a new word because I was always aware of a low-grade conversation along the lines of: “What’s the point? You’ll never really learn the language enough to use it. And besides, how many people in the world speak Bemba?!” The underlying message—not worth the time.
In keeping my commitment, here is what I discovered.
There is an enthusiasm for learning Bemba simply for the process of learning Bemba, not for any outcome. As we say in practice, the process is the outcome!
Having it as one of the High 5 gives it the “importance” to sit right there on my daily list next to timely emails, preparing for retreats and articles to be written for newsletters. It is thrilling that I can use this tool of commitment to give the human the support to attend to what she knows in her heart are the simple actions each day that add up to a life of freedom. Because, of course, the freedom is in making and keeping the agreement; the freedom is in the very action itself.
I am never going back. Each month I am going to choose 5 particular things I want support with—“little” actions that I want to do and keep getting talked out of. It’s a beautiful life when conditioning can no longer bamboozle me that snuggling with the dog is less important than paying bills. On the list—gotta do it!
Very exciting!
In gassho,
Jen