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Body
Art and the Zen of Commitment
by
john o'keefe
What
is it to be committed?
I mean, I hear people all the time
tell me how they are “committed” to a
particular topic, or to a particular stance,
or a particular issue.
But I still wonder what it all means?
Are they really committed?
No, really are they?
Are they truly committed?
Is their commitment so deep it is a
core values to their lives, or is it a
passing fancy? If given the opportunity would they move their
commitment to another stance?
What would move someone out of one
commitment and into another?
I remember when I was a kid, a
friend’s father once said, “a chicken is
dedicated to giving you a good breakfast,
but a pig is committed to the breakfast.”
What did that mean to me as a kid?
It changed my life and gave me
insight into the world around me, and my own
personal level of commitment.
I came to understand that the chicken
is willing to give the cost of her egg;
which is truly no cost to the chicken.
The pig, on the other hand, must give
their life for the breakfast; now, that is
true commitment.
In
my mind, it is easiest to see the levels of
commitment based on the realm of body art.
I know, for some this may seem silly,
but for me it brings it all together in an
easy to understand reality.
Commitment
Levels:
I
see four levels of people and their
respective level of commitment that shape
our world today.
The first is the “non-commitment”
level. I have always found this to be the most interesting starting
point when we speak of commitment.
The reality of the situation is this,
non-commitment is actually commitment –
only it is commitment to doing noting.
If you are actually not committing to
a particular stance you are actually
committing to something else – no one
actually is committed to no cause, it’s is
just that your cause might be that you are
willing to do nothing and help no one.
People
who are non-committed to anything are
actually ignoring the world around them.
They do not desire to get involved,
because that would mean they would have to
get off the couch and actually get dirty in
helping someone. These are people who go through life centered on themselves
– they, if you desire, are committed to
themselves and no one else.
What I find fascinating about these
people is that they are the ones who scream
the loudest about those who get the tattoo.
Second,
these are the “face painters.”
Ever been to a fair where they offer
face painting?
You can go and they will draw little
designs on your face or arms.
Usually it is a cute little heart of
some easily drawn flower; nothing hard,
nothing to complicated.
It’s fun, it’s fashionable and it
can be washed off the minute you get home
– as your mother would remind you.
At
this level commitment is exciting and can
seem like you are truly getting involved in
the process – but it’s make-up and
grease paint.
These are the people who desire to
talk about the problems and then say things
like, “I wish they would do something
about all this….” They never seem to get
the point that “they” are the “they”
“they” are talking about.
Their level of commitment is to
complain about what others are not doing,
and to always second-guess those who are
doing.
These are the people who were told
when they got home from the fair, “you
will need to wash that off before you go to
bed. Remember
you have school tomorrow and we don’t want
people to think bad of you for having that
all over your face.”
Third,
these are the “stick-on tattoo-ers.”
When I was a kid, I would spend all
my change tying to get a cool stick-on
tattoo from one of those quarter machines.
I wanted one bad.
It would drive my mother crazy when
she was done with shopping for all her
change.
She actually started to pick stores
that did not have the machines that sold the
tattoos so she would not have to give my
brothers and me all her quarters. And hear
all the fighting about who got the coolest
tattoo.
At this level, while it costs more
and takes a little longer then face
painting, it still wipes off and is not a
true commitment.
People
at this level of commitment are the ones
wanting to write a check, and then say to
others how committed they are to solving a
problem of social value.
People try hard not to get too
committed to many different activities and
they are not willing to get dirty.
They desire to send a check and then
tell everyone how they are helping to solve
the problem.
They want to look cool, but they just
don’t want it to be “too” committing.
The
forth lever is the get down and dirt level,
I call it “the tattooed.”
These are people who are willing to
spare no expense, endure all pain and take
the time needed to solve a social problem.
Unlike the other levels, which are at
some level “impulse purchases,” this
level requires that you make a long-term
commitment to a particular design.
A good tattoo artist would want you
to make sure that what you are getting is
truly want you want and truly fits who you
are.
People
who make a commitment at this level are
truly committed to making changes in the
world around them. They believe that with a little hard work, blood, sweat and
tears life can change for many people.
For example, they believe that hunger
can be solved if we all just take the time
to eat with the hungry.
When you make a sandwich, make two
and share – sure, it cost more for you to
do this and it will require that you take
the sandwich to the person in need – but
then that is what jesus did.
What
is your Zen of commitment?
Where
do you stand?
A watcher?
A face painter?
A stick-on tattoo-er?
A tattooed?
Where are you?
If given the opportunity to have the
phrase “I love Jesus” placed on your
body, what would you do?
Would you say “No” and then give
some reason why?
It also does not matter what the
reason is, the important thing is that you
said “No.”
Would you take a pen and write it on
your arm? Then when you got home, would you wash it off?
Would you buy a temp-tattoo and place
it on your shoulder?
Letting it fade as time passes?
Would you take your savings and run
down to the local tattoo artist and spend
the time and money and have it tattooed on
your body?
Which would you do?
What is your level of commitment?
Before
you select a response, before you committee
to a “commitment,” be sure you are
secure in your choice. Be in prayer and let God be your guide and what you will find
is that God is calling you to get committed.
God wants you to be tattooed and to
help others get tattooed.
Jesus took it upon himself to eat
with the sinners and to care for those who
were outside the social norms of the
society, why don’t we?
I find it interesting that Jesus
never eat with the socially powerful, or the
leadership of any social groups.
Jesus took it to the people, and he
did without wondering what others thought,
or how others acted towards him.
Jesus was tattooed.
While we would get a tattoo that
said, “I Love Jesus,” Jesus got one that
says, “I Love Humanity.”
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