Individual Responsibility

“Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example, starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. 

When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously.”  

- HH the Dalai Lama, The Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989

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This is part of my vision… for myself, my community, society, and the world.

Anyone else?

~ mu

Re: Individual Responsibility

I Totally agree with that quote, and yes count me in on this opinion.

Re: Individual Responsibility

I agree as well.

Re: Individual Responsibility

Indeed.  It all starts with self.  With the free will and personal responsibilty born with us; to mould ourselves into something that can be the embodiment of happiness -thus, moulding our families, communities, nations, continents and planet(s). 

People tend to take happiness with a pinch of salt.  They tend to throw it back a t the sixties, calling it fluffy -calling it romantic and dreamy.  But why not?  The one thing that every creature on this planet shares is the desire to be happy -to be free from suffering.  Why should this be such a “grand” dream for our civilization?

Re: Individual Responsibility

Whatever we believe will happen…will happen. What we focus on we create.

Happy sounds like a worthy focus to me.

“Become the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi

Re: Individual Responsibility

“Whatever we believe will happen”

Mmm.  This is one that I have struggled with for many a weary moment in my time.

I am neither certain and convinced, or uncertain and convinced.

I often tell myself….if I carry on thinking this will happen (often something negative) that it will, and that I will have caused the event with my own negativity.  But then the thing does not happen and I am joyous and thankful….and I go on wondering if that my joy is what is causing all the wonderful things to happen around me.

Its a strange one.  -The mind, is a strange one.

I honestly believe though that, if a community were to be happy (focussed and mindfully happy) that the world would inturn change from this.

So thankyou, for your little post there.  It brought something home for me and convinced me of a small internal dialogue/argument I have been having with myself for some time now.

Slante Mhor.

Individual Responsibility, seriously

“What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment we live in seriously.” 


ain't that the truth

there's plenty of positive energy in this place
plenty of good people in the world

let's get serious

Re: Individual Responsibility, seriously

seriously?

immediately when i see that word i want to laugh.  out loud.  i'm rather irreverant in general, laugh at all the wrong times.  i do take my own personal responsibility, accountability, integrity and all the rest 'seriously' but i can't get too serious about it, ya know?    must be the contrary nature in me.  i just want to make sure that we all get the joke at the same time.  i am not intending to be disrespectful………..  i just reacted!   but i have seen, in my day, people, 'teachers', ministers, etc. who take themselves waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy  too seriously. 

but, yes, I will be responsible absolutely.

~peace
shannon

Re: Individual Responsibility, seriously

“…but i have seen, in my day, people, 'teachers', ministers, etc. who take themselves waaaaaayyyyyyyyyy  too seriously. ”

I see this too and agree with you.

En-LIGHTEN-ment …. pretty simple stuff! ;-)

…even though that word is about as troublesome as the word “Love” … mostly because it means so many different things to as many different people. But, it just came to me as I was typing this reply. Seemed relevant - or not.

L/L
~mu

Re: Individual Responsibility

This brings to mind one of my favorite quotes from Rabbi Hillel:

“If I am not for myself - who will be?
If I am for myself alone - what am I?
and if not now, when?”