Be
impeccable with your Word.
These words form the first and
most profound "agreement" of Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements. I
won't go into the other three here, nor what he means by the term
"agreement", but I highly recommend you look it up at some point as
it really has the power to transform lives if understood and applied correctly.
However, I do want to dwell on the first...
I ran into trouble last week,
and spent at least one full evening building up a mountain of unwanted negative
energy, because what I was receiving from someone - or rather, my perception of
what I was receiving - did not match my expectation. Yes, I admit, there was a
little bit of selfishness and ego in there, but...honestly, I thought something
should or would have happened differently. My view or blueprint
"dictated" something should be a certain way, and when it turned out
differently, it created anxiety and anger inside me. And yes, I turned the
thought over several times that I should either change what's happening if I don't
like it, or accept what's happening if I can't change it. And yes, I also realised
that I THOUGHT too much. But I could not stop the current of bad energy
engulfing me.
See, I know all the shoulds. I studied NLP, and know the
power of words, expressions, behaviour and impressions. And I accept how
fundamental gratitude, the law of attraction, compassion and meditation in my
life is. These strategies and practices work for me and I would not dream
living a life devoid of them again. But still, I wasn't getting anywhere. Or
rather I was in Upset Land, with all the Unhappy, Impatient, Ungrateful and
Fretful Ones .... Until I realised my word is not impeccable.
The meaning of Ruiz's first
agreement (according to Toltec spirit) is to "speak with integrity and not
to speak against yourself, to yourself or to others. It is to use the power of
your word in the direction of truth and love..."
However, my Word is so much
more than my spoken word, opinions, comments or thoughts. Through my Word I
have the power to create using
expressions, emotions, attitude, actions, as well as what I don't express or
what I remain silent about.
And what does impeccable mean?
Anything that causes you to hold back in
your actions of love for yourself and others, goes against being impeccable.
So, my actions, expressions, attitude and emotions (my Word) have to be loving
and kind (impeccable) against myself.
I am pondering how I perceived
someone else's Word as not matching what I expected, without adhering to the
first and foremost agreement to use impeccable Words against myself. How often
do I do that - create a new "agreement" based on my perception of
someone else's Word?
I have the power to create and
radiate love and kindness to myself, regardless of someone else’s Word!
