Reflections on responsibility

“Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.” 
― Colin Powell, On Leadership

"Get a job!" A phrase I hear on a regular basis.  Sometimes I have a job, sometimes I don't.  That's how it is.

The truth is, I change.  My interests fade, my goals adjust, and what I want most in life is to enjoy it, and not spend every minute of it in constant trepidation.  But occasionally, I still get stressed when what I have worked on, turns into crap.

Loving life, every minute of every disaster is not a small minded endeavor.  In fact, it's taking a lofty idea and applying it in a meaningful way.

If you are in pain, sick, or feeling overwhelmed there is nothing more beneficial you can do for yourself than to take a sick day, a vacation, anything to regain sanity.  I feel guilty writing this, because work is valued in our society.  We feel we need to work, we have to work. We want to be a person of value.

Although sometimes you simply cannot. You are in depths of unknown despair, and that is the time when you are the most vulnerable. At this time, you believe that besides work, there is nothing more that needs to be done. That everything that was once bothering you will suddenly eradicate on its own terms.

Not for one second do you take into account that you are responsible for your life and the choices you have made. You are responsible for the results of your actions and how people treated you. You are responsible for hiding your pain and the chaos buried in your soul.

It is a straightforward process. Acknowledge and accept who you once were, in order to become what you know you are. And for this you need to reflect, examine, and think.  Sometimes being responsible is to stand up for who you are, instead of working towards becoming what you are not.