Mindfulness Mondays 32: “Oxen & Cows”
January 4, 2010 by dr. lam
“Don’t transfer the ox’s load to the cow” is a saying in Buddhist lojong philosophy. It means not to pass responsibility over to someone else. How often do we refuse responsibility for something but pass the buck instead? I am very proud that my staff takes ownership. I also take ownership for problems or perceived problems. The captain must set the example of taking responsibility. Aren’t we all captains of our own ships in many ways?
This week, think of yourself like a strong ox. Don’t take the weight off of yourself to pass it onto someone else that is gentler than you, a cow so to speak. Take responsibility. Take ownership of whatever the outcome. Remember that how we perform in small things daily will affect how successful we are when confronting bigger obstacles. Be true to taking ownership in small things. It will help you become successful in taking ownership in the big things.
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I LOVE this philosophy!!!! It reminds me of an important concept in social psychology and off the top of my mind, I can’t quite remember the name of the concept, but it is where a crowd will often believe that the responsibility of something will be taken on by someone else, and that each person in the crowd feels that they are helpless or not needed. I’ll give an example… There have been times when someone was hurt and needed help and no one in the surrounding crowd assisted that person, and then afterwards people wondered why, and the reason was because everyone assumed that someone else was dealing with it and that they were not needed, and so no one helped. I think taking on a responsible mentality also helps someone think for themselves and not just follow something blindly.
Great blog to meditate on this week!!! Thanks, Dr. Lam!!!
thanks heather. agreed. yeah, there was a story that is famous about a murder that occurred in New York that went unhelped with 39 onlookers. however, in the book SuperFreakanomics, they determined the story to be exaggerated. Nevertheless, there are many examples of this kind of passivity that we should avoid.
thanks!
sml