The proposal that you are completely responsible for all levels of emotion and circumstances(prior to ‘external’ non consensual impediments) that you experience is a hard pill for most to swallow. However it is an important understanding that heavily contributes to the survival and progression of certain intelligence in your life that you may develop.
You’re responsible for the emotions that you feel and also how you choose to react/respond to them. Even if someone was to utter harsh words to you, trying to diminish your character, how you choose to react is your responsibility, not theirs. Who ever spat the words are responsible for their own doings but certainly not yours. You choose to move your body from one place to another, everyday you are presented with what we struggle to understand as, infinite choices. Whilst jumping out of a window so you can fly is not possible from how we understand physics, we know that the opportunity to try is certainly there.
Knowing you’re responsible for yourself can most definitely lead you to not only think more carefully about your decisions you make but it can further heighten your chances of survival in a world where even amongst the most privileged are faced with situations where your existence is at risk. It also may be a point of reference for you to be able to be more mindful of your emotions, once annoyed, disturbed or any emotion for that matter, and this is developing your awareness. You’re training your mind and body to listen, understand and accept all that you are perceiving. You are aware that you are happy, you understand youre responsible for feeling this way and you can then accept that this is the reality of things.
“A new neighbor arrives next to Amans home, Aman recognises this as opportunity to present him with a house warming gift. So he quickly collects what he wants, knocks on the neighbor door and greets him. Aman offers his gift to the neighbor but he kindly rejects the gift. Aman slightly confused and ruffled tries to offer it again, insisting he takes it. But the neighbor says he does not want the gift. So Aman abruptly leaves in a storm, annoyed and confused to why this man will not take into his home, the gift. And the neighbor is left in peace.” – Now if we was to replace the gift for the idea of words, we can see where responsibility really is understood by the neighbor. If someone utters words to you, in that moment you are presented with an opportunity to take those words into your home or ‘take them to heart’, someone can say all they want to you with any intention but the emotions and responses come from within not from their words. Whilst they may be the stimulus for these feelings, they do not determine the processes and algorithms you use to interpret and then responses you have.
When understanding it in terms of survival it is about recognition of your surroundings and how we understand them. As a woman it isn’t recommended to walk home by yourself when its dark and their isn’t many people around to see you. And whilst the education of the ones who prey and the youth also, is vitally more important to emphasize, so you as woman can walk more freely. We cannot ignore that the reality of things Now is not so. You are not always safe, their are people who pray and you (depending on context) should probably walk in numbers. And if you understand responsibility you can see that if you choose to walk down a dark street with no lights and people around, you are responsible for putting yourself in a high risk situation, where your chances of survival most definitely decline. Also in regards to how you spend your time, have you educated yourself on self defense? Do you know any movements or procedures to perform when you’re attacked besides only screaming? Whilst its not expected to dedicate your life to become a martial arts master so your chances of survival will ever more increase, it seems logical to find a balance, you’re responsible for how you spend your time, and the time that you spent on something you could say is less productive, could’ve been spent on improving your chances of survival and thus self development.
The same applies to all humans, for those that have the opportunity to read this we have the privilege of freedom, the access to boundless information and wisdom. So one of those infinite options we have been presented with is one where we can choose to further increase our chances of survival and doing so gives us more Time to develop other valuable attributes in our lives. Our friendships, our skills, our relationship with the world, our understandings of the universe and self. All of this requires Time, and the only way to increase your chances of experiencing more of this precious Time, you must first understand responsibility and then you can choose your actions more wisely to entail that such Time is used, letting you indulge and experience all of the wonderful human options that self awareness has allowed us to have.
Green Dharma 