This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it.
- William James
Making what you make out of life has been a recurrent theme for me. When I was a student at Mount Holyoke College, I was told that the experience would be what I made of it. I didn't make much of, but I got the point. When I lived in Los Angeles, I really did put this idea into action and transformed myself (somewhat) into a relatively self-made person. Now that I'm back at college (MCLA), I've come full circle back around to this idea that life is what you make of it.
I guess, on a deeper level, I have my Buddhist practice to thank for understanding this concept and putting it into action. In the philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, we believe that we must never forfeit our responsibility under any situation. This is not to say that we blame ourselves for the messes in our lives, or arrogantly sit upon the laurels of our accomplishments. In a nutshell, it means that we live our lives as best we can, where we are right now, and with the skills and knowledge of who we are and what we're capable of doing.
I acknowledge, but no longer focus on, what's lacking in my life. Instead, I try to have no regrets and concentrate on living to my fullest potential. That is the sense of responsibility I feel and try to embody every day. In a very personal sense that means that I can't expect to lose the weight I want to by asking a friend to exercise and I can't earn money by watching a co-worker count his/her money. I am responsible for my own happiness... and unhappiness.
Yet, there is also a seamless interconnectedness in the universe which makes it possible for us to see our influence on others and in our environment, i.e., when I take responsibility to go out every day and sweep the pavement in front of my apartment building, before long others are either taking care not to add garbage or sweeping with me AND neighbors nearby are doing the same thing for their streets so that pretty soon we build a sense of community & pride to create cleaner & safer places to live. It's true what they say... it just takes one person to change the whole world, just as it only takes one person to mess it up. I truly believe that a positive change can be enacted an individual who possesses determination, consistent effort and stamina -- and that individual exists in the mirror!
Anyway, life is what you make of it -- and I'm choosing to create a positive life. If I can encourage just one other person to take a positive step in his/her life by being an example, well that's just icing on the cake... and most of us eat cake just so we can get a corner piece (or one of those flowers) so we savor the icing!!!
