Responsibility

Here are some excerpts from this article about Michael Brown transforming his experience of beggars banging on his door to beg for food to be about him and not about them:

"I have discovered that since disciplining myself to not open the door until I am centered and grounded in the moment, that my encounter with these individuals is transformed. Even their way of engaging me is transformed. I no longer interact with them in a way intended to get rid of them, or to verbally challenge the reason for their presence on my doorstep. I have also discovered that I no longer over-give or completely dismiss - that my being absolutely present opens a middle pathway of interaction which is sensible, required, personal, and which leaves no trailing residual of emotional discomfort.

"So now I no longer have beggars coming to my door - I have cleansing calls begging me to show up. A simple shift in my intent transformed what was infuriating into what is now a potential moment of increased personal possibility. If a bang on the door ends up in me being upset - that is about me - not the caller. I really am responsible for the quality of my experience. "


After reading this, I came to this conclusion:

The biggest thing I am taking from this is... how do I word it? You know how people are concerned about how kids' behavior is intruding upon the people around them? This is a piece of the puzzle of letting that social conditioning go. If Michael Brown can transform his experience of people banging on his door at all hours begging for food, I have a feeling that people can deal with the fact that my kids don't want to wear shoes or my kids want to run or sing or laugh loudly at times. It is hard to untangle where my responsibility ends and someone else's begins, but I am sure this is a part of that puzzle...