How responsible are you?
Can you take care of yourself, your finances, your basic self care and livelihood needs should your dependencies fall away?
Can your loved ones take care of themselves should you, the caregiver, no be ther to provide?
Do they know how to cook, clean, do laundry, pay bills, get work?
We are fostering dependence by doing and providing too much for one another.
We are create weak and fearful children when they cannot care for themselves.
We think "Love" is doing everything for our loved ones.
If there is genuine need, of course we help our brothers, our neighbors and others.
Love is teaching our loved ones to do for themselves and do for others who truly have needs.
Everyone in a family system from five years old can learn to care for themselves if needed.
Everyone in a partnership can learn to care for the other if there is a real call.
Everyone of us has a responsibility to grow up and be responsible for ourselves.
Responsibility is freedom.
When we are not responsible or negligent of our responsibilities we weaken our confidence.
When we cannot and perhaps do not know how to care for our basic needs we are fearful.
The world today has fostered specialization, so that we become dependent on experts.
What we can do is learn all the basics.
What we can do is learn to live simply.
What we can do is learn to live inexpensively (yes, even on a social security check).
What we can do it learn we can move if needed to grow a garden or pay minimal rent.
What we can do is learn how to get higher education for little money and use the library.
I am aware that many people have developed laziness, lethargy, selfishness, neediness and fear, because of never being expected and encouraged to take care of themselves and others.
We can change it all with ourselves, our modeling and how we treat those around us.
Expect and ask for more responsibility respect and cooperation,
Betty Lue