When I was a kid, I became quite skilled at playing the blame game with my siblings. One of us would do something that we weren’t supposed to do and when our parents would find out and want to know “who did it”, the game would begin. You became the victor in the game if you did the forbidden act and managed to get one of your siblings in trouble for something they didn’t do. And of course, there was no way you would ever take responsibility for it. “Who me? I had nothing to do with it” I would say with my innocent brown eyes.
My thought for this week is at what stage in our lives to we begin to “own it”? When do we begin to fully understand that our actions have consequences and that holds us in a place of responsibility? As we evolve, I believe we begin to accept more responsibility. We start being better skilled at separating out what is “our stuff” and what isn’t. We gain courage in saying, “yes, it was me” and handle the subsequent consequences. But do we ever fully realize how our actions move away from our immediate actions into the greater community, world and environment?
Take for example the recent oil spill in the Gulf. People are hungry to put blame onto someone…BP, the government, corporations. But aren’t we all responsible? Do we not live in a society that uses oil and fossil fuels to put into our cars and manufacturing? Doesn’t demand drive the economy and if we’re demanding low gas prices, does that not encourage oil companies to drill more and faster…perhaps recklessly?
Now, I’m not saying that it’s right or wrong. I’m not laying blame. I’m just saying if we pull the lens back we can all offer up our support or lack of support for finding other ways to not dig into the earth for our mass needs. Can our individual and collective voices admit that we are all connected to each other and to this planet and in being so, we hold it in our hands to look after each other.
When an accident like this happens, it causes reflection and sadness. But if life is an experiential teacher, what have we learned and what ACTION can we take?
My commitment is to act like a big girl now and own my own actions. To become more aware of how I impact my world and all the other creatures that inhabit it. Big girl action takes awareness and a promise to keep doing the best I can. To stop pointing the finger at someone else. How about you?
