Pathwalking 201
Responsibility is not a dirty word.
We often look at responsibilities we have with dread. Let’s face it, there are many things that are a must which most of us would prefer not to do. Trips to the DMV, visiting the doctor or dentist, standing in line at movies or concerts, sitting in traffic because we have to get to wherever it is we are going.
Responsibility seems to frequently be lumped into negative things. We see this as a thing that we have no choice but to do, and we dread and lament it, and we struggle with it and resist it and begrudgingly make it happen.
Responsibility is another place where we have choice.
Pathwalking is about choice. We are on our paths to find and create our own destinies in a manner of our own choosing. The simple truth of this is that we are taking responsibility for our lives.
We live in a society where responsibility is often seen as consequence. All you have to do is look to our so-called leaders, and watch them deny, deflect and outright avoid responsibility. This puts the notion of responsibility into a negative place for us, so we in turn work to not have to cope with this idea.
When we let go of this notion, and instead take responsibility, and make of it what we want, we can in fact do incredible things with it. It is by taking responsibility for our own lives, our own hopes and dreams and goals and identities that we make our individual corners of the world into a better place.
Responsibility allows us to empower ourselves. It is the chance to truly make choices in our lives, and to hold ourselves accountable for them.
Which is the next issue many have with responsibility. When I am responsible, I alone am accountable. Accountability, as I have written before, is another concept despised by many, because it is seen as life-changing and negative.
The truth is that neither responsibility nor accountability are negatives. Not unless we see them this way. They are actually tools of empowerment, which we have available to us for improving our lives and controlling our destinies.
When all is said and done, a lot of how we will live our lives comes down to empowerment. Do we each take and use our own power, or do we give it away and squander it on other things, people and situations?
We see all these material things, and often connect them to the immaterial. We see what wealth can provide and connect it to happiness. We see a stable and good relationship and connect it to feeling love. We see people surrounded by friends and connect that to joy.
I am not denying that the material things help with the immaterial. The issue here is that we have it backwards. Yes, these external material things can help us with the immaterial, but the truth is that the latter is what will bring us the former.
The car, the house, the relationship won’t make me happy? That’s not entirely the case. They will be a part of happiness, but it is really only by our own empowerment that we create the immaterial, and it is for the most part the immaterial we most desire.
Yes, I don’t think I know anybody who would not prefer to be financially well-off, in perfect physical condition, and in good relationships. But more than that, most of us want to feel good, to feel happy, to love and be loved, to be in a positive emotional state.
This is where responsibility comes to roost. When we recognize that we alone can create and control how we feel, then we can take that power and the responsibility that comes with it to better ourselves. We can choose things that make us feel good, we can take actions that empower us, and we can walk whatever paths we desire to.
When we let our emotions be controlled by others, or when we are lost in thought only about the lives of those around us, or we only act for the benefit of people besides ourselves, we leave the responsibility for how we will feel to the ethers. When we do not take responsibility for these things, we do not control them and we find ourselves less happy, discontent and dissatisfied with what we have.
We are, each and every one of us, empowered to walk whatever paths we might want. No matter what “they” tell us, we are the ones who know what it is that will make us feel good. We alone know our own thoughts, how we feel, and what actions we might wish to take to better our lots in life.
I know how easy it is to feel out of control. I know how easy it is to feel disempowered. I know what it is like to be afraid that I cannot do the things I wish and that I will be unable to be successful, or happy, or what-have-you. I can, knowing these things, choose to pass the buck and not take responsibility for them, or I can acknowledge the responsibility, and from there I can be accountable and take control to create better.
How do I go about taking responsibility for my own empowerment? There are several ways to make this happen, and I will get into that in depth next week.
Responsibility is not a dirty word.
Do you take responsibility for finding and walking your own paths?
This is the two-hundred first entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas and my personal experiences in walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my personal desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available in print and for your Kindle.
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