Assuming the blame for your own sins is by no means identical to avoiding confrontation with others. It means refusing to be victimized. It implies freedom and control over one's life. If you are not in control of what you do, then someone else is in control of your life and you are dis-empowered from any action at all. The first step in personal change can only come from within. Assuming responsibility for your life, and doing something about it, is the beginning of a truly creative and meaningful life. In any case, these desert dwellers knew very well that, even if we have not directly committed a particular wrong, nevertheless our actions - and especially our attitudes - may in fact contribute to the general conditions that allow particular wrongs to occur. We all influence one another's spiritual choices. We are all involved in one another's spiritual growth.
+Fr. John Chryssavgis,
In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Chapter 5: The Struggle against Demons
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