"Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you . . ."(Jeremiah 4:18).

One of the hardest things to do is to take responsibility for oneself. Far easier it is to blame an accident, illness, a cheating colleague or bad luck for our lack of success. When someone else to blame for our failure is entirely lacking, we can always blame those who brought us into the world for being such lousy parents. Yes, some parents were, are lousy and they made life harder than it ought to have been--for some. But for most of us, blaming them, or blaming someone else is not a helpful thing for us to do. Better to accept that it is ourselves who hold the balance of power when it comes to the way things turn out.