We Need to Take Responsibility For Our Own Lives

We Need to Take Responsibility For Our Own Lives

Dear friends,

Recently, I heard a phrase used by a counselor that really hit me. She was speaking to a client and said, "It seems it is time for you to get out of the passenger seat and go around to get into the driver's seat."

What a wonderful image! It captures so much. While driving we need to be awake and alert and we need to take total responsibility for what we are doing. That said, things happen: cars suddenly have engine problems, something can appear in the road, or, God forbid, someone can hit you. But what we do is entirely up to us.

Yogananda said, in a different context, that we need always to try our best. "You are 100% responsible for your own efforts." Spirit can help, Grace can help. But that does not take us off the hook.

I remember many years ago my teacher was doing a public lecture. He usually drew big crowds, but on this occasion very, very few people showed up. One of the organizers said, "I guess it was not meant to be." His reply was, "Let's leave a little room for human error!"

The path is not a passive let's-see-what-happens process. We need to get in the driver's seat in every endeavor we undertake. And then, with an open heart, accept that we have truly done our best and that what comes is ultimately for our own good. And even when we “fail," we can learn much.

Let us not allow fear of failure (or the false belief that we have limited energy) to inhibit our actively driving our car. Then with an open heart we can move forward with courage and faith. Spirit will always meet us partway, but our part is our part. It is the sincere effort that brings both grace and wisdom.

Blessings,
David G., manager
For the staff at East West