a postage stamp, an envelop and the comet.

There is an envelope lying on my desk.
Someone has sent me a mail. I am supposed to read the matter written on a piece of paper in this envelope.
I see a postage stamp at the extreme corner. It seems to be very colourful. I see a picture of a few villagers doing something. I can’t understand what exactly they are up to! The postage stamp has been stamped by the postal authority. They do it so that the postage stamp cannot be reused.
So once the postage stamp is stuck on the envelope, the sole purpose of its existence is to help the envelope reach its destination. In the process it looses its value. A stamped postage stamp is of no use to anyone else than the envelope. It also looses its identity. Once the black ink is spread over the postage stamp there is no way anyone can understand what was printed on the stamp.

It is so obvious that once the envelop reaches the destination, no one will care about the stamp. After all it is the tiniest part of the whole thing. The postman will care about the address on the envelope. The receiver will be interested only in the letter carried by the envelope. How many of them will realise the importance of the postage stamp. But if it was not for the postage stamp, the envelop would have gone back to the one who mailed it. Only the sender will then understand how important it is for an envelope to have a postage stamp.
But, the underlined part is, the postage stamp will loose everything it has just to make sure the letter reaches safely. Is it a sacrifice?
DEVOTION TO DUTY IS NOT SACRIFICE. IT IS THE SOLE PURPOSE OF YOUR EXISTANCE.
If the postage stamp was not used with a fear that it might be damaged, it would, anyway, mean that the postage stamp has been wasted. This will be an insult to the postage stamp.

Now, I look at the envelope. It is nicely decorated, very neatly printed, very stylish one. The person who typed the address took extra effort to make the receiver feel nice to receive the envelope. The postage stamp seems to have spoilt its beauty. It is obvious from the presentation that the letter seems to have a high importance to the receiver.

Ever since the letter has been put into the envelope, it is taking good care of the letter. It protected the letter from the heat, the rains and the wind. It acted as a cushion against mishandling. It also carries the postage stamp and the mailing address which are the basic requirements for the safe delivery of the letter.

But as soon as the receiver will get the envelope, the envelope will be torn into pieces. The letter inside will be carefully handled, read and preserved. But the 2 most important factors – the envelope and the postage stamp will be in pieces an in the waste basket.

But this does not make them change their minds. They will still do their job to the best of their abilities. They won’t care about the consequences.
They will still be there with the letter… till the end … performing their duties

A comet will crash into the earths crust. People will see the damage it caused to the surface. But how many of them will realise that, in doing so the comet has lost its existence. It was so obsessed about the earth that it did not care about its identity and went to meet the earth. I think the comet has lost more in the process than the earth.

These non living things perform their tasks in a very efficient manner without the fear of the price they might have to pay in doing so. They are going to be punished for discharging their duties perfectly.

To me … this is what COMMITMENT is.