Do you have an “oil spill” in your own life?

The oil spill threatening the wetlands of Louisiana and other Gulf states is in the news. You’ve probably seen some of the coverage. I’ve watched the news on various channels, but it’s frustrating to hear officials talk in circles and point fingers to deflect the blame, while they make excuses for the lack of pre-planning. Where there’s oil drilling, there’s spills!  It seems obvious that there should be a really stringent set of plans in place to deal efficiently with oil spills — and totally mindblogging that there isn’t!
As kids, most of us are taught: If you make a mess, clean up after yourself!

It’s a basic responsibility.

We’ll see what happens next with the oil spill — it won’t be pretty to watch. And I’m astounded to hear more details about the oil industry that I was unaware of before, such as the lack of a serious plan for these inevitable spills, the fact the corporations sell themselves the clean up materials so they make a profit from their own spills. And there’s plenty more to learn, but I’m not CNN and this isn’t a news blog.

The reason I chose this topic about cleaning up your spills is that I think there’s an important lesson about accountability that we all can learn from watching the oil industry.

Take a look at your own life and see what messes you’ve been waiting for someone else to clean up for you… what messes you’ve ignored while saying blithely, “What mess? I don’t know what are you talking about!”  … what messes you’re taking responsibility for that are not even yours.   (Hint: if you do that last item a lot, you probably are in a codependent relationship and could benefit from learning how to be more assertive.)

your happiness guru,

Evelyn

P.S. Click on the bird picture to find out how to donate to http://GreaterGood.org to help the oil-spill-endangered wildlife — 100% goes to charity