Complacency Kills

Today I am grateful for the fresh air and a fresh start on a new day. I am grateful that this air has a touch of fall in it this morning, beckoning my favorite season. 

What I am not grateful for today is complacency. My own and that of others. There's a big difference between being content and being complacent. Being content allows me to be present and aware. It also keeps me contributing to the doings of the day. From mundane house chores, to job responsibilities, to favorite pastimes and interpersonal connections, I am fulfilled by fulfilling responsibilities and doing my part. 

Complacency, on the other hand, tricks us into inaction or outright counterproductivity. We are smugly satisfied by what we have done and we stop doing it, rest on our laurels, wait for others to step up; whatever the case may be.

Complacency kills. It's a serious malady when it takes hold and settles in, no matter what area of our lives it is happening in.

Complacency kills people in recovery from alcoholism and other addictions. They may go back to using and actually die. Or they may not use, but they stop living fully, stop growing in recovery. Both are tragic. 

Complacency kills joy. We get used to what we have and we want more, forgetting the richness of breathing, of seeing a loved ones smile. 

Complacency kills presence because we are not fully awake. We aren't tuned in and we miss so much.

Complacency has created many of the social and political problems of our times. If we are honest, we have all had some variation on these lines of thought: "Not my problem. I'm right and you are wrong so you are the one who needs to change. I'll wait over here." 

Complacency has our planet in some serious trouble. Our individual and collective souls are in peril, What are you willing to do about this? What am I willing to do?

I will start by noticing the squirrel scurrying across the yard, the sun coming up. I will continue by recycling and composting as we make breakfast. And I will greet you on the trail with a friendly hello as I walk. I will pick up my recovery tools and keep them sharp. I will stave off complacency with good actions, not just good intentions. I will forgive myself when I fall short. And I will get up and keep going.