Improving our lives without effort?

Jim and Katie couldn't figure out why their life kept going downhill. It seemed that everything, and everybody, was against them. What was the cause? Why couldn't they move ahead?

Katie, especially, felt that other people were at fault. She believed that she and Jim were definitely victims. When their most recent endeavor fell through, she became severely disheartened, and said she couldn't depend on anyone. "You can't trust anyone to help you when you're down, but yourself, so I'll never trust anyone again, not ever. I'll take care of own self," she said.

This was a conversation that Katie and I were having as she confided to me that they had been evicted from their apartment. According to Katie, they were being evicted because the maintenance man became angry and complained to their landlord. I believe a confrontation followed in which Jim defended their position about the incident, rather, than admitting they had broken the rules. I wondered why Jim had failed to apologize and attempt to rectify the situation.

The incident wasn't the first that had taken place in the lives of the couple. They vacated their former residence because they couldn't get along with the owner of the apartment they were renting. Something negative always seemed to happen wherever they went. I loved the couple, but I dealt with them only on a casual bases and tried to help them. I saw the good, sweet and caring side of them. Jim and Katie are good people, but they can't seem to understand how their attitude affects their own destinies.

People have always blamed other people, things or whatever else seemed appropriate, for their bad choices. The story of Adam and Eve, written in Christian Scripture, points out that this trait is not a recent habit. "God asked Adam, 'Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?' The man answered, 'the woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree''' (Genesis 3). In other words, she made me do it. "God asked the woman, 'what is this that you have done?''' The woman blamed it on the serpent. 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate"' Genesis 3. Neither person wanted to admit their guilt. Everyone can relate to having blamed someone else for having made a bad choice, or for another reason. One must take responsibility for his choices.

How do we take responsibility? Some of the ways are to: "Stop blaming others, because it's exhausting and unfair. Stop making excuses, it allows you to shirk responsibility. Stop bemoaning your situation, it only means you're accepting the situation, but you have more power than you think. Recognize your choices, promises and commitments, be someone who is true to his word and whose promises mean something. Know what you really want in life and try to know what sort of life you want. Take action, do things that take you closer to that point. Forgive yourself when things go wrong and learn from them. Break the bad habit -- in doing so, you must first identify and accept it for what it is. Write it down, ask what situations are most likely to result in you running from your responsibilities. Recognize your choices, life is full of choices where we can take one path or another " (aconsciousrethink.com).

Which will we choose? Can we improve our lives without effort? We are never standing still. Instead our lives are always in transit. We are on a journey. On our journey we will experience joy, gladness, peace and tranquillity. We will also suffer through sadness, discomforts and confusion. We will go up hills of glee and down slopes of misery and ambiguity. It is up to us how we surmount, endure, or accept the tragedies, heartbreaks, joys, and times of happiness. Don't give away your gift of the power of God. Blame what happens on no one, but rise above it with responsibility and positivity.