These are three dirty words for some people:  responsibility, obligation, and duty.  After all, who wants to deal with these words when there are such nice words right there with them:  right, opportunity, and possession?  The first three demand something of us, while the last three give something to us.

One of the most important measures of character, though, is the way that we deal with our rights and responsibilities.  Do we take our rights for granted and shirk our responsibilities?  If we do, then we can be sure that we're not fulfilling our purpose here on this planet, for in that case we'd be giving nothing at all to our fellow human beings.  If on the other hand we appreciate our rights and live up to our responsibilities, then we can be sure that we're at least approaching the fulfillment of our purpose here on this planet.  For then we'll be giving to others in the best ways that we know how.

We don't get or take in this life without being asked--and rightly so--to give something back.  And it's in the giving that we see who we truly are, and what we truly believe in.  We can truly see the measure of the person in the balance that he or she strikes between taking and giving back, though the two may be in completely different areas.  One may receive tons of money, yet give back with time or energy to different causes, and that's fine.  The worst we can do is forget that what we receive does imply that we need to give something back, somewhere, anywhere.

Questions to consider:

What kind of balance do you strike between giving and getting?

Why do some people tend to avoid fulfilling responsibilities and obligations?

Why is there such a relationship between rights and responsibilities, opportunities and obligations?

For further thought:

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more

Anthony Robbins

Today's quotation:

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every
opportunity an obligation; every possession a duty.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

http://www.livinglifefully.com/