|
 |
| |
Appreciating Responsibilities
Recently I was sent a letter which asked: "What does it mean to appreciate our responsibilities?" At first I thought it was a great question, but than as with many things we postpone for too long and delay to a later date, suddenly it start to eat at us and we feel uncomfortable, until we finally do something about it. Certainly I don't have a clear answer, but this is what comes out straight from the gut.
There are many types of responsibilities. In the Indian tradition three are considered of major importance. The responsibilities we have towards our family, society and divine beings. Let's focus on the first two.
We are born into a family and certain conditions are given from birth. We come with certain talents, attributes and capacities. This is irreversible and the very blueprint in which we enter into life. As most children do, we take on a few scars from our upbringing, this may be painful to realize later in life, but without the support of our family we would not survive, let alone develop and grow. In the teenage years, our rebellious nature comes forth and is partly needed to find ones own identity, but as we hit our midlife crisis it is quite common to think: "Why? Why did I do this? How could I act so mindlessly? Well, usually because we didn't know any better and we were simply acting out the response mechanisms in our own mind, rather than being in tune with what really matters.
Society is a sensitive matter. We are all part of it and it effects us in numerous ways. We all actively contribute to it by the work that we do. Whatever it may be, our politicians are normally the faces on display of the society we represent. Some politicians try to change the world according to the best of their ideals; others become corrupted and get caught up in manipulative power games, others may struggle for a healthy balance between the two. As everything in life, within politics, work, religion, society and our own families we can find all colors under the rainbow and rarely do things appear in plain black and white. So how do we navigate within this complexity of human behaviors? How do we come to accept that we are all part of this intricate whole and the very contribution that we bring towards our family as well as our community/nation/society is what will determine whether we become active contributors to the greater whole or active contributors to greater resentment, frustration, antagonism and war. Do we constructively partake or actively criticize and blame? Whatever way we look at it, the whole affects us all, whether we want it or not so actively taking part in the responsibilities of our families and society will most probably provide us with a better focus to embrace life, rather than allowing it to slip away from us through either ignorance, annoyance, self-pity or self-centered behavior.
When we are engaged in the work for others, no matter what it may be, we are lifted out of ourselves and may have the potential to release many self-centered patterns that tend to hold us in a grip. There is no better cure to heal our imprisoning Ego's than through the work we do for others, without expecting anything in return. If we do, and act out of self-centered behavior our Ego's swell and get stronger. When we can avoid that, there's a tremendous potential for release. If you seek greater clarity in yoga, Ego is what contracts, separates and narrows, and will naturally obstruct your greater union with the whole. Since we are all part of the whole, it's just a question of how and when we will find a greater harmony with it, because without it we would not exist, and our way back to being more fully absorbed in this wholeness is our very lesson of life. To find harmony and peace, joy beyond your wildest measures. Not because you lack anything, but because you are that in your inmost identity. Your wholesome complete being!
Making the most of our responsibilities may bring us closer to this whole. The actions that we do shape the nature of our mind just like the actions we refrain from. For good or for worse, the choice is ours so how do we go about it? Naturally we seek pleasure and try to avoid what is painful. We make experiences and grow through trials and errors, but ultimately we hopefully seek something that is more consistent and not just the temporarily twinkles of pleasure. When we can lift our minds beyond the instant pleasures and seek a more sustaining strength, a new sense of joy arises. Not the one we gain from sensory stimuli, but the one that reveals itself within our own being, when we have finally come home and can appreciate the act of being rather than becoming. Then we may feel truly connected to this greater whole we all share. Whatever duties or responsibilities are then laid on top of us hopefully we embrace them with greater equanimity of mind because they are our (God) given tools of transformation.
So if you ask me plainly what it means to embrace our responsibilities. I guess I would simply say: Do whatever that is expected of you as accurately as you can and don't expect to get anything in return. Or as the old saying goes: "Do onto others… and simply act according to your capabilities. Here, at least I believe, lays the key to unlock an infinite wisdom and joy when we can embrace the responsibilities given rather than fight against it or avoid it all costs. True freedom comes from executing them, without them thing certainly remain very stagnant and all our potentials stay put locked up within our own mind.
May you move forth with grace, appreciate each moment and welcome whatever work comes your way as your genuine contribution to the whole.
R. Alexander Medin
|
|
|
