Whose Body Am I Being?

  In pondering self-will, I realize that unless an activity came to me on my own and is following my own agenda only, I am being somebody else's hands, feet, etc.  With anything I think, do or say, I should ask myself whose body I'm being at that moment.  So often, the answer is that I'm being my parents even though they're thousands of miles away.  I'm living out ideas that they planted in me, in the exact same way that the Nazis were Hitler's hands and feet.  I'm just an extension of their body.  I see that that's what is called being a tool.
  To counter-act this, I must look at what my sole purpose is in this body.  It is to heal the space that I am in.  In order to do that, I must first know the space that I am in.  I need to become intimately familiar with the needs and lackings of everything around me.  Only in that way will I be able to provide those things for them.  I will be a steward of them.
  And when I do something that has offended someone, the solution is not to immediately try to fix the problem.  That would be my ego trying to soothe itself.  The solution is to take a good look at the deep inherent flaw in my character that caused me to do such a thing that could offend someone.  Once I have fixed that flaw, I will be in a place where repeating the offense would be less likely.  At this particular moment, I just need to grit my teeth an take full responsibility for whatever has happened.  It's too late to fix it now, but it's never too late to fix myself on the inside so as to not do that again if it is within my power not to.  If I am allowed to fix the problem now, I won't have to think about my flaws and it will entirely be the responsibility of the other person to point them out to me every time from here on out.
  Saying that I didn't mean to offend someone is never a good thing.  The very fact that I didn't mean something that happened is the problem.  I wasn't in full and absolute control of the situation.  If I was careful and acted in such a way that the outcome matched my intention, then offense is a lot less likely.  This is especially true with words.  If I choose my words carefully, so as to avoid misinterpretation, then it is more likely that my intended meaning will be conveyed instead of some hurtful misunderstanding.  Of course, the lack of care is usually the problem more than the misinterpretation.  It shows a disrespect for the intended listener.