Perhaps our greatest responsibility as human beings on this planet is being true to our deepest inner selves. When we get in touch with our ability to respond (our “respond ability”), we can become brutally honest about what is in line with our true nature and what is not.

Through this awareness, we can begin to uncover our true inner calling – the life that brings us peace knowing that we are fulfilling our purpose. We only need look at our personal health and the health of the planet to get an indication of how far off track we may have gone and how important it is that we acknowledge this responsibility.

Becoming accountable for our lives first means reclaiming our responsibilities. We may have dished out these responsibilities to others in the form of blame or because of fear. In blaming others for how our lives have turned out, or in being fearful of what may come, we hand the responsibility over, subjecting ourselves to external forces out of our control, which make us passive and disempowered witnesses rather than active participants in our own lives.

There is a consequence to our actions, whether they are passive or active. We cause life to happen through our actions or inactions. Taking responsibility for these allows us to choose a powerful, specific outcome for our lives and steer us toward our true path.

If we take a look at our lives today, we can begin to see that we are responsible for the reactions and stories that shape our lives. With this perspective we empower ourselves toward choice and transformation, with the notion that we are the creators of our lives. So, if we are the creators of our lives, then we will have no issue being responsible for them because the results stem directly from our conscious choosing.

Reclaiming responsibility

Individual responsibility requires an attitude of self-reflection. Instead of blaming others for your discomforts in life, try looking within. How?

1) Take some time in a quiet meditative space. Examine the areas of your life in which you give away responsibility for your current state of affairs. Who are you blaming? What are you fearful of? Feel how this state of holding others responsible is disempowering. Begin to feel yourself surrendering this blame. Let go of it with the understanding that we can only truly work through our own aspect of any situation.

2) Look at the issues that you moan about most – there is a great amount of information there. Ask yourself, “what part do I play in these moments?” If you are honest with yourself, you will find that in most cases you have created the situation just as much, if not more, than the party whom you are blaming.

3) Stop moaning and start communicating. Express the responsibility and let the other person know that you want it back. Share the responsibility, recognize that it takes two to cause a reaction and choose a more empowering pastime, like…world peace.

If we are responsible for our true inner selves, we naturally become more involved with our families, communities and, ultimately, Mother Earth as a whole. We affect the greater consciousness of the world when we become conscious of our own personal actions by first taking responsibility for who we really are.

If you are looking for a way to start or deepen your daily meditation – take
look at this program by MindValley: bit.ly/YOGIMeditation and the Mindfulness Based Stressed Reduction online course by Sounds True: – The YOGI TIMES team

reclaiming responsibility