Friday, August 26, 2022
Much of your life will emerge from a response to what’s inside of you. That’s what responsibility is, a response to how you feel, a compelling prompt to action (or inaction). But beware of what feelings you respond to. If you respond to frustration, those actions may lead to trouble. If you respond to vindication, you may incite a fight. If you respond to laziness, it will lead to feelings of guilt. If you respond to carnal desires of greed, gluttony, selfishness – there won’t be any real satiety. If you respond to what you think pleases other people, that chase will lead you to disappointment.
Respond to love, and you can’t lose. Respond to your greater good, and you’ll develop disciplines that will make you feel satisfied. Respond to your creative desires, and you’ll find a purpose, a reason to take action. Respond to your joy, and you’ll feel complete. Respond to the feelings evoked by nature, and you’ll feel connected to the whole. Respond to your feelings of wellness, and you’ll take necessary steps to improve and preserve your health. Respond to guilt, greed, self-pity, and irritation and you’ll get nothing but trouble.
A responsibility is a response, a response to what’s good for you, to what’s right for you, and to what makes you feel like you’re contributing, not taking from life. Be a responsible person, and respond to that which is good, right, and wholesome. Being a responsible person, is a response to something deeper, something bigger than you, something that serves the greater good, even if it’s hard and take a long time. But don’t forget to serve your own good – self care is the biggest responsibility that you have. Respond with love towards yourself first, and then you can learn the responsibility of taking care of others.