If you make it a habit not to blame others, you will feel the growth of the ability to love in your soul, and you will see the growth of goodness in your life. – Leo Tolstoy

The growth of goodness….if I’m taking anything from this quote today, it is that phrase.  The growth of goodness.  It’s absolutely beautiful to me, and I want to talk about goodness, but everything I come up with is sounding like a sermon in my head, and that is not my intention.  I have absolutely no right to preach at anybody.  So if this starts to sound preachy, I apologize in advance because that is not my intent.

Not blaming others.  Man, blaming others is a trap I fall into all the time.  And it’s a bad trap. The blame game gets you nowhere.  It’s a way to justify, and that’s it.  I’m really thinking about myself here, and believe it or not, I’m thinking about my gazillion diet failures.  I can’t succeed on a diet because I’m an emotional eater and so and so hurt my feelings.  I can’t exercise because this happened and I hurt my shoulder.  Yes, I am actually an emotional eater, but me letting somebody else affect me and make me eat is a justification.  I’m an adult, I can find a better way to manage my emotions.  I’m justifying and putting the blame elsewhere.  Maybe if I stop doing that, I’ll feel the growth of the ability to love in my soul and that will lead to the growth of goodness in my life.

I think the lesson I’m taking from today’s quote is for me to accept responsibility for me, and my actions. Stop trying to foist responsibility off on to others.  Just accept them for who they are and accept me for who I am.  Don’t try and justify or blame and open myself up to the growth of goodness that is yet to come.