Why Responsibility is Not Something Hard
We read over and over again to take responsibility for our decisions, our lives and our states of being. I thought taking responsibility meant I had to take control for everything that happens and for everyone around me. Thank God I was wrong. But it is a constant battle to remind myself that I am not responsible or have any control of what happens. Things will happen, situations, people, places will change. But if I take responsibility for me, I let go of control. Control of people around me, control of what they think, how they behave. It is extremely liberating. I take responsibility and let go of control. I don’t handle what other people do, I teach them have they treat me. I don’t try and manipulate people close to me so I can ultimately get what I want. I give myself what I want. If I don’t get something it is OK as well, because who am I to know when and how things will play out? Which people and circumstances have yet to play roles in our lives?
Taking responsibility is a humbling experience. It is when you act and don’t expect but somehow know that everything is alright even when it does not seem so on the outside. It is funny how much power I gave other people over my life. How much I still sometimes give away. It is easy to forget that is not their responsibility. When I forget, life gets harder. It gets harder, it becomes surviving instead of living and thriving. Learning to remind myself to take my responsibility back is something that makes things easier, not harder. It means I do not need to wait for someone to take over. I can decide for myself and also accept the consequences, both good and bad, with ease and grace. It was my choice to begin with, so there is no reason to not be calm. What I also discovered is that our choices take us only so far. At the end, we meet with other people’s choices. We meet with their responsibility on the borderline of ours. That’s where true gratitude and presence is born. Realizing freedom does not mean my freedom only. Realizing all I have ever been given is a blessing, that I had only a small part in. Truly being grateful begins with knowing where your borders are, accepting and letting go. That is where true limitlessness comes from. That is why taking responsibility is not hard. It takes away burdens, those bags of sand we were carrying for others and gives us back our sandbag. That weight is not a burden. It is our pride. It is what helps us build the exact muscles we need to carry our life story.
Be grateful for your weight, without it you would be lost.
