“You have the right to the work, but never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of work be your motive, nor should you be attached to inaction.” -Bhagavad Gita
Few things in this world are certain. Death is one of them. The transformative power of responsibility is another. When contemplating either, we realize that they are inextricably linked. We only have a finite amount of time. Why waste it by keeping ourselves in a state of helplessness? Our lives will expand in fulfillment only to the degree that we are willing to put forth effort.
The course of an individual's life is marked by important development landmarks. Each is indicative of an increase of ability and thus an increase in potential responsibility. Suckling, grasping, chewing, crawling, standing, walking, speaking, reading, writing, mathematics, etc.--all are skills that we should develop over time. If these landmarks are not met within reasonable intervals, then we have a problem. A failure to launch. An insufficiency somewhere in the system. This is the definition of retardation.
For the majority of us, we will pass through the process of gaining function with little issue. As children we are full of vigor and desire to interact with our environment. The biological clock is wound and will play itself out as long as no major injury befalls the child. Even under the worst circumstances, kids will fully develop and be able to supplement whatever they haven't mastered with assistance.
However, we are much slower to develop a sense of responsibility. The more advanced the skill, the more difficult this becomes. The consequences of chewing and walking are built in to the skill. We choke, we fall. But the responsibilities of speaking, rational thought, and advanced technology are more subtle. They take decades to properly learn, and some people never truly do. We all have areas of ourselves where we know we need more work. We often see areas in others, perhaps more glaringly, where people are stunted. Never to reach their full potential.
Taking responsibility by exerting effort is the determining factor for improving ourselves. At the end of our lives, effort is the only currency that we have. Nothing will be able to replace the relationships that we never built but wanted to, the cause that we never took on but believed was important, or the person that we desired to be but couldn't commit to. Our effort is all that we have control of. Each day every one of us has the same number of hours to devote towards action. Don't let the sun go down on unfulfilled potential. Some day there won't be a tomorrow.
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