Maybe you heard about “property entailing responsibility”. When we begin to own stuff, for example a pencil case when we go to school, then we also must learn to take responsibility for it. We must keep it in good shape, get new pens when the old ones are used up, should try not to loose it or forget it somewhere. Maybe we need to defend it against classmates who want to have it. It is good when parents give this responsibility to their child, and avoid checking and maintaining their kids pencil case every day. That would take away an opportunity for the child to learn and grow. Kids want to do things themselves, they need to try, fail and learn, and not allowing that, or not having time for that, is one of the most common and tragic mistakes.
The more property we collect, the more responsibility we have. At some point we are overstrained. An entrepreneur with a growing business will at some point look for employees. Eventually he will need to give responsibility to his employees, because it becomes impossible for a single person to keep an eye on every single process in the company. He may not share ownership – but the responsibility that comes with it gets distributed among several people. A good chief is like a good parent – they can delegate, allow for freedom to move and tolerate mistakes, do not micromanage or supervise everything – but are available when needed. They create an environment that enables development, and they can also accept help to do so. They encourage people and trust in their abilities. And if something goes wrong despite everyone trying their best, they cheer up and take responsibility.
We are all chief of our own life and our own body – at least if we are grown up and accept the task. We are responsible for our actions. We are responsible for our development and our condition. If we notice that an action of ours causes suffering, illness or death, then we also get responsibility for that. But even if we notice, we may not immediately change our behavior. Habits do not disappear automatically, just because we noticed they are bad. To change a habit takes time, requires willpower. If we recognize something as bad, it is the potential beginning of a new path, if we are capable of taking it.
Some people may be used since early childhood to do everything according to the best of their knowledge. They are lucky to grow up in an environment where all goes as it should, or they do not notice the ethically questionable actions of the people around. For them it is perfectly clear that an immediate change is required when something gets recognized as ethically incorrect. Others notice early that some practices are not quite right. But while we are young, we adopt to our surroundings, we have neither the power nor the mental maturity to challenge what we suspect or know to be wrong. It is more important to be part of the group and be accepted. Then it becomes normal for us to do things that we feel are ethically wrong, but that are established by those around us. In that case we will not change anything just because we are told that something is wrong. It has always been wrong, it is not news to us. But we were trained to do it that way, and we accepted it when we were young. We accepted that wrong things are also included in our daily life.
People with high standards have a tendency to be unsatisfied and to push themselves beyond the limit where they can maintain good health in the long run. If I take on a lot and fail to cope with it or need to neglect other important tasks to somehow get it done, then I harm myself more compared to a gradual approach, putting some projects on a shelf until capacity becomes available again. How much energy I have, and how much is available, that is very individual. What problems are important for me to address, and how much I want to know and understand before making changes, that is also very individual. Some people feel what is right and they get going right away. Others look for a deeper understanding why things are the way they are, why something is wrong or right. They do not judge as quickly, do not change as quickly. Who gets lost in a never ending search and never implements a change is certainly falling behind his potential. On the other hand, when I invest all my time and energy into implementing changes, then I will loose orientation and will also fall behind.
Our entire economy and politics are soaked with incentives that support and reward ethically questionable behavior. How things could get this far, that requires several more posts on this blog just to scratch the surface. They will come in the future. It is partly a consequence of our worldview, our philosophical beliefs. The thoughts of some philosophers have contributed to this. That is not meant as an accusation. The thoughts are justified, they have their place. We must think about this to evolve. It might be tempting to skip this section of our path. As an individual we have the freedom to go through this dark section quickly. But the development of mankind as a whole we can only accelerate very little. Others may need more time. As soon as we realize where we are and what is going on, we would need to detach from almost everything that is happening. We quickly assume the worst everywhere, because it seems the most likely. Then we must do everything ourselves, or look for likeminded people who we trust and who we can accept again as trading partners.
Alternatively, we agree on compromises. Temporary solutions. Intermediate goals. When I have a goal in mind, I do not have to get to it instantly. I just need to get on my way in the right direction. Most people keep blind spots here and there, accept a few unsolved problems for the moment. A human being is capable of hiding things from view, pushing away overwhelming burdens and avoiding to think about them. There are people who can enjoy something despite knowing that it harms their body or mind. Although they know they will suffer by the consequences of the enjoyment. Others are unable to do that. There are people who can enjoy things, even though they know that by doing so they participate in financing structures that cause suffering. Often we have never seen the suffering, just been told about it. We can sugarcoat these things or avoid thinking about the suffering altogether. That is not necessarily laziness, but also a protection against stress and exclusion. When a house of cards collapses in our Weltbild, it does not automatically enable us to do everything differently in the next moment. It is an understandable reaction to try and save a part of the house. Or to not apply the consequences of the collapse on everything we do in our daily life. We need time to get new orientation. We can make the best of our situation to begin with, without directly quitting the job and giving up all sources for the products we are used to.
To find a good middle ground and a speed that works for us it is surely helpful to look a bit closer at laziness. What is it, how is it connected to convenience and comfort? What have temptation and distraction to do with it? It can happen that suppressed issues remain in the background for the rest of our life and never get taken care of. Then the time will come in the next life. But when we progress swiftly in our development, then these issues will come back. Maybe on our own initiative, or due to an outside trigger. Or a combination of both. And then we will find solutions.