RESPONSIBILITY

"RESPONSIBLE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE UNTIL ACTED UPON. 

BIG TALK, LITTLE DO, DOESN'T DO!"

~Dorothy Briggs

Fear of responsibility comes from a lack of self confidence. To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, life's shadows are often caused by our standing in our own sunshine.  So many people are jammed with negatives and limitations, and the belief that if they do it, it will be wrong or they might make a mistake or worse yet, be rejected.  This fear is accompanied by a conscious decision to not grow.  In other words, we want the glory but don't want to take the responsibility to work for it.  It is found in this country's requirement of instant gratification.  I know many who simply do not want to take responsibility for their daily lives.  Responsibility and growth is then stopped.  They don't do what they say they will do.  They have little integrity and life is solely about them. Parts are missing.

According to Dorothy Briggs, "Fear is faith - in the negative."

Wow!  That is worth repeating.  "Fear is faith - in the negative." If we bury our heads in the sand and dwell in fear, there isn't much hope.

We all catch glimmers of what we would like our life to be.  And we complain endlessly when it doesn't turn out like we wanted it to.  But how many of us take responsibility for our own lives and our own mistakes and our own messes.  And mostly, we don't take responsibility for staying stuck in places and spaces where we know we are not thriving. 

Secondary trauma and deep compassion fatigue has taken its toll on me.  I am taking responsibility for it.  But what to do about it is a different matter. Maybe sometimes we just need a shoulder to  lean on. Or someone to just listen to us, offering nothing more than an ear. Or maybe travel a different direction. 

I walked out of the podiatrist's office today grumbling about my aching feet and his parting comment about 'gravity and age.' Then as fate would have it, I turned the corner to the elevator and there was a man in a wheelchair with no legs. 

So today I will consider a good day because I have two aching feet and the wheels of my shopping cart all went in the same direction. 

I will make a resolution to continue to take responsibility for my life.  It is no one elses but mine, and whatever decisions I must make will be mine and mine alone.

To you and yours,

"Many Merry Christmases, many Happy New Years, unbroken friendships, great accumulations of cheerful recollections and affections on earth, and heaven for us all."

~Charles Dickens