Duty… it is all in the Balance

Duty (from “due,” that which is owing, O. Fr. deu, did, past participle of devoir; Lat. debere, debitum; cf. debt) is a term that conveys a sense of moral commitment to someone or something. The moral commitment is the sort that results in action, and it is not a matter of passive feeling or mere recognition. When someone recognizes a duty, that person commits himself/herself to the cause involved without considering the self-interested courses of actions that may have been relevant previously.

All of us have a variety of duties that come with the various relationships and positions we have and hold; we are citizens, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, employees, bosses etc. If we look at the French root of the word duty it comes from devoir which refers to things we have to do.

As we move into adulthood we acquire certain rights (freedoms) and duties (obligations), and it is not unusual for us to proclaim the former and curse the latter. I don’t know about you but sometimes life seems to provide less and less space wherein we have freedom to choose how we dispose of our free moments and hard-earned pennies. Money itself is interesting, because having it buys us freedom and choices, but the earning of it so often ensnares us!

One of the key things about Life, and also Change, is that we like to feel that we have an option whether we do something or not. Duty tells us we have to! However, amidst our net of duties there are conflicts and balances to be struck. How do we offset the duty we owe our clients against that we owe our spouse; or those owed to our children against those to our parents? Here we each find our own recipe for balance.

If you are finding yourself overburdened by duties to others, chances are you have not factored yourself adequately into the equation. On this long, holiday weekend, learn from Sisyphus¹, lay down your boulder and take a little space for yourself. You will serve others so much better on Tuesday!

“Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles, and kindnesses, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort” Humphrey Davy “A sense of duty is useful in work, but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not be endured with patient resignation.” Bertrand Russell

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Resources:

1. Sisyphus, cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill

Tags: balance, choice, duty, freeedom

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 08:45 and is filed under General, Personal Change, Values & Philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.