Be Responsible And A Person Of Integrity And Do Your Duty In Life

What is duty? Is it something I should buy into or keep at a safe distance?

Roles and tasks, functions and jobs, responsibility and accountability, come in all shapes and sizes. Our path in life determines the ones we come into contact with, the ones we may wrestle with - all life long.

Our skills and strengths play their role in the execution of the actions that are required of us, day to day. Our talents direct us and help us forge the path we follow. Our values help decide the effort, direction, resolve, importance, of what we do.

So what is duty?

• is it responsibility?
• is it a job?
• is it merely a task?
• is it our calling?
• is it our business?
• is it a service?
• is it something we are charged with?
• is it our role in the grand order of things?
• is it a function we have taken upon ourselves?
• is it our mission in life?
• is it an obligation we cannot remove ourselves from?

or is it a combination of these things, and changing just as life changes from time to time?

And of our effort in executing this duty

• is it easy ?
• is it simple and straightforward?
• is it difficult and taxing?
• is it engaging or an activity we'd rather avoid?
• is it fulfilling or exhausting?

Is it enough to get the job done? Or is our real sense of duty a bit more:

• does it give us a feeling of freedom or a feeling of being hemmed in?
• are we uplifted or end up depressed or despondent?
• are we enthused or non-plussed?
• does it draw us to it or are we repelled by the thought?

Real life examples of the origin of some duties

• external
• internal
• by law
• by values
• by guidelines
• by acceptance
• obligations
• requirements

But we can soon find that obligation does not really work. You can end up regretting what you are doing, wishing you were somewhere else. Not the recipe for good and productive action.

This is all sounds good but what really affects us? What cannot we really get away from? What are the real duties of life?

• to take care of ourselves
• to look out for others
• to give as well as to receive
• to contribute as well as to take
• to do our best
• to explore life as fully as possible

And in life what do we really want to be able to do? What should our sense of responsibility accomplish and fulfill?

Should it not enable us to be able to look back on life and not say that our song remained unsung.