Accountability

Accountability

Human beings do not want to be held accountable for their harmful actions. As quick as we are to take credit for something of merit… so is our sloth at acknowledging our destructive choices.

We want credit for the successes and blame others for the failures. It is always the other guy’s fault that there is war, crime, and global warming. The problems are always caused by something "out there". And, when there is no one else to accuse, we will even blame our genes for our illnesses and our obesity. While we gladly reap the benefits of this unsustainable society, we indignantly condemn whatever or whomever we can for the problems.

Until we can acknowledge the part we play in the problems, we can never move to a real solution. Like an alcoholic, we must first admit that we are out of control and acting destructively. We are all accountable for our actions and their affect on the world around us. Creating nice-sounding excuses does not stop our accountability. It only seems to justify it in our own imagination.

Accepting our own deceptions as "truth", only serves to give credence to the illusion we have created around our artificial and destructive lives. In this way, uncomfortable circumstances such as the horrors of war and the slaughterhouse can be swept under the carpet and kept conveniently out of sight. We then get to live in a fabricated and dishonest world where the problems are real, but we are blameless. Lying to ourselves is where it all begins. "This above all to thine own self be true."

Accepting Responsibility and Accountability for our distasteful actions is a most difficult thing. However, if we are ever going to break free of our illusion and all our damaging ways, we must look our personal contribution to the madness squarely in the eyes. Then perhaps we can learn to take responsibility for our everyday actions and accept accountability for their consequences.

The choices we make in our own daily life have tremendous impact on the world around us. When we learn to value HEALTH… our own Health… and the Health of the planet… our actions will then awaken and evoke profound forces for the good of all.

The Extent of Accountability

Are we accountable for what we do not do? We do not want to be held accountable for what we do do. Being Accountable for what we don’t do seems remarkably absurd. "I didn’t do it. Don’t blame me."

However, consider the fact that when we choose to watch TV we are NOT choosing to help the children… the homeless… the forests… the animals… the Earth. What we choose at once embodies, at the same time, all that we could have been doing instead with that moment.

If we have obligations, does doing something else instead free us from those obligations? Whether or not we view ourselves as having any obligations outside of the "Me", will determine whether our actions remain Self-Centered… or… will join in the Harmony of Creation.