Responsibility

Today, I wanted to do something different and so I decided to give you a chapter from my book, Rare Sense; One day It Will Be Commmon: A Practical Guide to a Fulfilled and Balanced Life. It is the chapter on responsibility. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Responsibility

“Enlightenment means taking full responsibility for your life.” - William Blake

One of the biggest challenges in this modern age seems to be taking responsibility for our actions. We try to blame others for our very existence and our life and quickly look to lay responsibility elsewhere than at our own doorstep.

But this is really not possible since we are creating it all. However, if you believe that you do not have control, that you do not create your existence, then it is much easier to not take responsibility for it and to blame others.

As a child, we may lack the maturity as to how to respond to negative things said about us and thus are limited in our ability to choose what to believe. It is especially more difficult when the people who are supposed to love and protect us are the very ones causing the pain. However, once we mature and can make those informed, intelligent choices we can no longer blame others for the choices we make. Of course even children have the wisdom to choose to accept what is said about them. We can choose to internalize it or let it roll of our backs, like water off a duck. Very early on, we sometimes have a better understanding of who we really are. It is when we get older and start accepting someone else’s version of who we are that we start to doubt ourselves.

One of the best examples of not taking responsibility for our actions involved the lawsuit against McDonald’s by the lady who placed the coffee cup between her legs and burned herself. Had rare sense been applied in this situation, that lawsuit would have been thrown out, but in this day and age we are quicker to blame others than ourselves. Let me ask this question? Did any McDonald’s employee place that cup between that lady’s legs or did she choose to do that herself? I know you know the answer, so why was she not made to take responsibility for her own actions?

"I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Taking responsibility for our lives is the rare sense or spiritual thing to do. I have said earlier, we always take responsibility when things are going well, but we want to blame others when it is not. Convenient isn’t it?

Well, that is simply not the way things work in the universe. We were given free will. We are responsible for our lives and the decisions we make. Yes, there are some things that happen to us that make us think that sometimes we are not in control. However, if we really look at our lives, the things that have happened and what our responses to those things have been, we will find that somehow, some way, we created it.

Looking in that mirror is one of hardest things we will ever do, but we must. Because until we do, we will not be able to change our circumstances for we will think that we do not have control, yet what we think about is brought to us.

So, if you think you are not responsible and that you do not have control, things will continue to be created in which you do not have control and your life will seem like it is one disaster after another. Taking responsibility is taking control and having control is using your free will.

Here is something that is going to sound contradictory, so please bear with me. We can think we are not responsible but we still are. We can think we are not in control but we still are. We can think that we do not have free will but we still do. For you see, we have free will and that is one thing that does not change about us. With that free will we are free to think whatever we want to think, but no matter what we think we are responsible for all of it. Either what happens to us or how we are going to react to it. And with that comes responsibility.

If things are not going the way we wish them to be, then we need to take the time to see what thoughts and decisions we have made to create the circumstances we face today. Sometimes we have to go back many years to find the answer, sometimes just a few seconds but we will find the answer because it lies within us.

The good and bad, the ups and downs, all of it! Being responsible is having rare sense because we are telling the universe; I understand who I am and what I am capable of. I understand that I have the gift of free will and that I use that gift each and every moment of every single day! I am in control and I am a creative being, one with God and an integral part of the universe.

“Let us not talk of karma, but simply of responsibility toward the whole world.” - His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Copyright 2007 - Harry E. Shade, All Rights Reserved

If you would like to purchase a copy of my book, please go to my web site, www.raresenseunlimited.com for details. It is available in paperback, e-book and audio versions

Well, that's it. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments about this post. I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time, may you be blessed always and in all ways.

Harry

The Glow Project for Women

http://www.glowproject.org
One of my favorite things in life to do is empower women. It is one of my passions because I know how critical it is to the very survival of our world. I also know that there are not enough men in this world who are actively empowering women and that is a tragedy of epic proportions. As further evidence and testament of the wisdom of women, I will be offering quotes from some of the most influential women of all time.

"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." - Oprah Winfrey

For way too long, we have been a patriarchal society, dominated by male energies and suppressing female energies. The imbalance of these two energies has been the root cause for so many of our social ills. I am not advocating a return to a matriarchal society as that imbalance is not right either. The balance and harmony of these two energies will bring in the dawning of a new era of peace, compassion, love, tolerance and acceptance and must be pursued with all vigor.
"Regret is an appalling waste of energy, you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in." - Katherine Mansfield

I have learned first hand the power of women from my Mom. When her marriage to my father was finally coming an inevitable end, she was determined that for the first time in our lives, we would own our own home. The whole time my parents were married, my father refused to buy a house but rather chose to rent and spend much of his money on alcohol. My Mom wanted us to have a place we could call home and on her small salary as a school secretary and many second jobs, she was able to buy a house. As a single parent, she struggled to pay the bills but she always provided for her children, often going without herself. However, there was never ever a lack of love. She had to assume both roles of Mother and Father and did so with courage, determination and grace. I will never ever be able to repay her for all that she has done for me but I can pay it forward.

"Success means that we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others." - Marianne Williamson

So, to honor my Mom, I encourage all women and the men who support them to go to http://www.glowproject.org/ and learn more about "The most inspiring movie ever created for women!" It is through things like The Glow Project and E-women Network (http://www.ewomennetwork.com/index.html) that this new era will be ushered in. And not a moment too soon!

"I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime." --Elisabeth Kubler-Ross


That's all for today!

May you be blessed always and in all ways!

Harry