Today I want to ponder the idea of “commitment”. William Hutchison Murray (1913 –1996) was a Scottish mountaineer and writer surviving and enduring during the World War II era. I love this quotation by Murray about commitment, which occurs near the beginning of his book, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951):

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back–Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”

The first draft of Murray’s work was written while imprisoned on the only paper available to him – rough toilet paper. His manuscript was found and destroyed by the Gestapo. Murray’s response to this loss was to start again–despite his near starvation diet–and his belief that he would never climb again. His rewritten work was finally published in 1947. His book is credited with helping to inspire the post-war renaissance interest in the mountain climbing sport… and he did climb once again.

Jimmy Chin, Adventure photographer

So what does Murray, photographers and ants have in common? COMMITMENT. Ants are my metaphor for commitment as they are true survivors: They are as old as the dinosaurs, have already survived a mass extinction event, have conquered almost the entire globe, their total population make our 7 billion look weak… I could go on–but you get the idea–they have survived and thrived through their persevering “social” ant colony commitment.

Bridge by Andrey Pavlov

Andrey Pavlov is a Russian photographer that takes photographs of ants in stunning poses along with some help of props that make the images more fantasy-like. Have you seen his ant photographs before? They aren’t artificially rendered using Photoshop or CG software. They were created through patience and COMMITMENT, waiting for the right moment when the ants would move into the desired position.

Statue of Labour by Andrey Pavlov

The photographs in this picture gallery may look like they have been Photoshopped or assembled with dead insects, but the ants in these images are very much alive. Pavlov spends hours setting up fairy-tale scenes. He studied ants, and saw that they all follow a very specific path when they’re working. So he put his props on their trail, and photographed the insects interacting with his miniature ‘stage sets’.

Do not interfere with the driver! and more Photos by Andrey Pavlov

Andrey says: “I chose ants because I respect them and their way of life. They care about their children and look after the elderly.”

Andrey says: “I used to work in theatre which was a big help when it came to making props…”

What does commitment mean to you–from a head, heart and gut aspect? Please share! I hope that you enjoy these photos and the photographer’s commitment it took to create them. They certainly give me creative inspiration and enjoyment… and make me ponder “commitment.”

Thank you for reading my post. I am a writer and consultant living in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico with my husband and dogs. My core message of everyone is creative resonates with people of all ages and walks of life. I invite all to become the best version of themselves and find true meaning by pursing long term creative quests.