Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the
concept of taking responsibility for one's life and all that it entails. Shoghi
Effendi reminds us that:
Each of us is responsible for one life only, and that is our own.
Each of us is immeasurably far from being "perfect as our heavenly father
is perfect" and the task of perfecting our own life and character is one
that requires all our attention, our will-power and energy.
In general, as a concept in society, it seems
that people don't realize their own potential or their own power over who they
are. It is as if they are just subject to the various forces around them. For
example, if someone is mean to them, the assumed appropriate response is to be
mean back. This assumption or belief in "an eye for an eye" does at
least two things: 1, is that it makes the individual's behavior dependent on
the actions of others, rendering them weak and powerless to external forces
beyond their control (e.g. someone else's behavior) and 2, it nurtures a sense
of entitlement and justification for retaliating. The person perpetrating the wrong-doing is
the one wronged, not the person who receives the bad action and it baffles me
that often we see the wronged one commit another wrong in return, the victim of
both an external force and the hurt ego.
Another example we often see is within the
young people around us who behave in ways that are aligned with what their
family, friends, community, teachers say to them or believe about them. Often
times, the adults in their life have very low and negative standards for these
young people, expecting the worst from them. We then see the youth act out in
negative ways which goes on to perpetuate the negative beliefs around them.
There seems to be little hope for escaping the cycle and ever more frequently,
there are articles about this problematic age group in the media as well as
stories of ever more appalling behavior from them.
Both of these examples just scratch the surface
on this issue which is based on one or more mistaken beliefs that create
negative results in the lives of those who believe in them. In both examples,
these beliefs seem to be the result of poor education - people just don't know
better and most likely, their parents taught it to them because most likely,
they didn't know any better either.
Living life in this way is not living an
authentic life and it is not taking responsibility for who you are and who you
want to be. The Bahá’í Writings explain:
We
must not be content with simply following a certain course because we find our
fathers pursued that course. It is the duty of everyone to investigate reality,
and investigation of reality by another will not do for us... Ideas and beliefs
left by his fathers and ancestors as a heritage will not suffice, for adherence
to these are but imitations and imitations have ever been a cause of
disappointment and misguidance. Be investigators of reality, that you may
attain the verity of truth and life. - 'Abdu'l-Bahá
The beliefs of our forefathers or of those
around us do not necessarily reflect the truth about reality or the nature of
life. When we continue down a path of believing in ideas such as "an eye
for an eye" or "teenagers are rebellious and unruly" we are
propagating negative beliefs in our society and culture that are based on
fiction. We are doing ourselves, our peers and our children a disservice. To
me, this is one manifestation of not taking responsibility. We can look at some other writings from the
Bahá’í Faith to gain insights into what it then means to take responsibility
for oneself:
Each
human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the
creative plan of God. - 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Unto
each one hath been prescribed a pre-ordained measure...All that which ye
potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own
volition. Your own acts testify to this truth. - Bahá'u'lláh
Man
is the supreme Talisman. Lack of a proper education hath, however, deprived him
of that which he doth inherently possess... Regard man as a mine rich in gems
of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures,
and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.
- Bahá'u'lláh
The
reality of man is his thought, not his material body... the power of thought is
dependent on its manifestation in deeds. - 'Abdu'l-Bahá
I
charge you all that each one of you concentrate all the thoughts of your heart
on love and unity. When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought
of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of
love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness
and content. - 'Abdu'l-Bahá
This last writing is of particular importance
to this discussion. 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "Thoughts of war bring destruction
to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content." This concept is not
limited to the literal concept of war, but rather any negative thought one
might have. Since we know that we can control and change our thoughts and
beliefs, we can see an enormous power that rests within each one of us. I may
not have the power to change someone else's beliefs, but by changing my own, I
can make an impact on the world. And if I change my thoughts, even better since
often our thoughts are informed by our beliefs. And if I change both my beliefs
and thoughts, which then inform my actions, I'm not only improving my own life,
but I am creating positive change all around - in my family, friendships,
community, work and society. It's the responsibility of each and everyone of us
to take charge of our destinies, of who we are and who we want to be. Rumi says:
Your
task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers
within yourself that you have built against it.
