Real Commitment

Arriving in Central America from Europe in 1519, Hernando Cortes was determined to conquer the Aztec Empire of 5-6 million people--spread over 80,000 square miles--with a force of only six hundred men and 16 horses. Outnumbered 10,000 to one, the men were tempted to abandon this seemingly impossible mission and return to Spain. In order to remove the possibility of retreat, however--and to thoroughly motivate his men to fight--Cortes burned all his ships.

So in every battle the Spanish were fighting for their lives, with an intensity that frightened the Aztecs, who continued to withdraw deeper into apparently safer positions. By 1521 Cortes and his small army had conquered the Aztecs.

As people begin their journey toward Real Love, inevitably they experience the discomfort that accompanies growth. Although they profess their commitment to change, many of them then retreat into the comfort and apparent safety of their addictions to Imitation Love. Real Love is a sweet, subtle, and often soft sound or feeling, which the traveler on the road to genuine happiness finds only with careful listening and consistent practice. The distractions of the world blare loudly, with bright lights, luring the traveler back to familiar but deadly positions, from which there is often no escape.

Many others, however, wisely cut themselves off from retreat by sacrificing their addictions to money, sex, alcohol, and conditional approval, to name just a few. They may quit stressful jobs that are impossibly distracting, or they may temporarily dissociate from emotionally harmful family members or friends.

These people who burn their ships--who cut off their avenues of retreat--travel much faster and more directly along the road to Real Love and happiness.