“Do we have a duty to one another? We could say yes of course, but to my mind, response to another human should be natural instinct.” – I Lawrence

Many of us have gone through an experience where duty seems to conflict with the desire of our heart to fulfill our lives. These conflicts are our crossroads, and if it is true that we call experiences to ourselves, and our outer life mirrors inner life, then the crossroads are very valuable. Through them, and sometimes through pain, we find our way to the truth… that we are duty. ‘Duty to what’ is the question.

I’ve been thinking back to times when I was at a crossroad, and I gave way to restrictive circumstances. I accepted it, feeling duty pressed upon me. Heart’s desire was pushed into the distance, an unapproved option, requiring strength and courage to even consider.

When society uses duty as a tool, it can give a person with a heart much to consider. One needs strength and clarity, and I haven’t always had it… not by myself. I remember heartache and tears, heaviness and resignation, and the thought, “Won’t anyone help me take that other option?”

Now I can look back on what happened and say, “I’m so glad they didn’t help.” The experience was perfect in its lessons. I learned the feeling of restriction and the feeling of expansion, and within those two, many variations. If all true feeling is ‘I Am’ experiencing itself, then there is no bad and good. And if it’s in us to fulfill our life, we will bring the heart’s desire back around, strengthened by what has been learned.

Taking charge: we encounter many things to grow through and beyond. Our conditioning, our dependence on intellect, our and others’ opinions, our indulgences, previous experiences that may have been harsh, circumstances we believe we cannot overcome… these states are confronted only when we become aware of them.

It becomes worthwhile as well to pose the question of what duty, obligation and responsibility really are. What do we owe? Who or what puts obligation on us? What actually is right? What is our responsibility? Is there any duty that goes beyond these things, and if so, what is it?

Obligation is often placed upon us by some means other than our agreement. If we didn’t agree, we have no obligation. Even if we did agree, when there is manipulation or guilt in the obligation, we can consider that in our decision. Responsibility… yes, we want it and we grow with it and because of it. The more responsibility we handle, the more we will be given. Within responsibility there are many creative solutions… it’s your universe, after all.

But duty submits to ‘authority’, and we can see it quite differently from a societal perspective and a spiritual perspective.

When governments speak of duty with a flowery respect, we know it’s a con job. The con: doing one’s duty lifts a person above others who do their jobs responsibly. Honor that man, for he is fulfilling an expectation, even if it’s wicked, even if he didn’t choose it, even if he was suckered into it, even if he hates it, even if it kills him. And if he fails in his duty, he has disgraced himself and harmed everyone who relied on him. Continue reading . . .

SF Source talk2momz  Dec 31 2014