Culpability

Let's see... who or what can we blame today? After all, nothing is ever our fault is it? Clearly something or someone else is the cause of all our problems - never mind that we're the ones demanding oil based products, driving vehicles with hideous emissions, consuming goods at an astounding rate. Let someone else take the heat for all the failure in the world. We've got enough to deal with already. After all, we've worked our asses off to have our fine homes, big cars, and products, products, products. Freedom is our right, not a privilege.

Whiners of America... unite! That's right.... all y'all... gather together where I can get a clean shot... I mean... a group photo. I hear people complaining all the time, grown people who should know better! "My parents made me like this... my spouse forces me to think this way... our government is full of idiots who keep us down... my kids... my job... my boss... my my my I, I, I..." Bullshit. BullllllSHIT! Did you hear me? Bullshit!

What separates the real humans from the sniveling malcontents is personal responsibility. Yes, it is all about you... you got that much right. However, it's all about you and the grace with which you handle your life.

Your world is out of control and you don't know what to do? Well, in the words of Calamity Jane (as spoken on the HBO series Deadwood), "Join the fuckin' club of the most of us." Every one of us faces obstacles and agony of some sort every single day, and some more than others. You don't get a badge for that. You don't win a prize for that. You get over it. You move beyond it. Maybe every now and then you get some kind of little reward, but that's just bonus material.

Are you stuck? It's your fault, your problem, not anyone else's - get moving.

Are you tired of all the problems you see in the world? In the words of Ghandi, "Be the change you wish to see..."

Can't handle working so hard for "nothing" any more? Guess what... you can sell your house and live in something smaller and cheaper, you can get rid of your huge car and car payments and drive something cheaper, take a bus, ride a bike, or walk, you can also shop for groceries far more efficiently than you do. Quit eating out. Learn to cook.

Tired of doing all the work yourself? Stop shooting for a fairytale life. Life is messy business. If you're constantly trying to pick it up, straighten it out, or keep it clean, you're missing out. At a Christmas gathering a couple of decades ago, my sister was tired and out of sorts. Someone told her to lighten up. She whined, "Yeah, well... I was up baking cookies until three in the morning and then I made the crab dip and I had to decorate and...." My brother calmly replied, "No one asked you to." I learned a lot from his quiet statement. It was one of those small sentences with huge impact.

The point here is, all the whining, bitching and complaining isn't going to change your world at all. Only you can change, and you can change only you. The best thing I took away from a childhood spent in the Catholic tradition was, "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa." My fault, my fault, my greatest fault.

I don't have to like stuff, but if I don't, it's up to me to change my attitude, proximity, or position. If I don't at least try to do that much, mea maxima culpa.