1992- Response Ability - from the Windstar Note

 

Words are interesting. In fact, they are incredibly important to me. Every word has value.

• ·        I like to think about the meaning of any word I choose. 
• ·        Will it convey to someone who hears me what I had in mind when I chose it?
• ·      If the word is in a song, will the listener hear my heart and feel the tender edges of the image that I have in mind to share?

It seems to me that we often take words for granted.  We become so familiar with the words we hear and see frequently that we run the risk of forgetting their essence.  We lose a sense of their purpose.  So, it occurs to me to try to listen carefully to the words I hear.  I consciously pay attention to the process so that I feel and understand the meanings as fully as possible. 

This all leads me to share with you a recent experience I had with the word responsibility.  I heard someone say it differently.  It sounded like two words: response and ability.  Say it aloud and take your time with it:  response ability.  Instantly, I found myself examining my habits of mind around the concept of responsibility.  

For some people, the word may bring to mind a burden.  Sometimes it feels like a heavy weight.  It can also feel like a privilege and it can be an opportunity.  Responsibility requires, by definition, a capacity to reason and make informed judgements prior to taking action.  To be responsible – that is response able – we must be dependable and reliable.  We must be accountable for the consequences of our actions. 

If we have response ability, it means more than simply having the capacity to respond to situations that arise.  Our capacities are more than reflexes.  They are choices.  Inherent in our response abilities are qualities that define our human character. 

·        Attributes like thought, reason, spirit, consciousness, faith, integrity, morality, humanity and conviction help to create a framework that makes the difference in determining whether or not we exercise our response ability.  

If these attributes are grounded firmly and surround us, then we find ourselves making the necessary conscious choice to act with conviction.  In fact, when we are fulfilling our response abilities, we cannot not respond.  We choose to be response able. 

I find myself questioning to the core of my soul how some of the actions taking place on this Earth today can by any measure be considered responsible.  When we look at the inhumanity of the politics that keep food from starving babies, the apparent genocide for reasons of ethnicity and religiosity in communities throughout the world, the continuing nighttime dumping of toxic chemicals- all of these are actions that avoid response ability.  Those are only some of the most obvious. 

It seems to me that any time any one does not weave together the range or scale of thought, reason, spirit, consciousness, faith, integrity, morality, humanity and conviction – he or she is falling short.  I continue to think that our current political leadership is falling short.  When we see that actions are needed, we have several choices on this path toward response ability.  As many have said – we can lead, follow, or get in the way.  Our current administration continues to get in the way.  The rest of us must define the measure of response ability.  We must require accountability beginning with ourselves. 

 

 

·        In light of the need to be a human family, in recognition of the dire circumstances we face- we must move from our inaction to a higher form of responsibility that sustains and promotes healthful environments and peace on Earth.  And we must demand as much from our leaders. 

All of this may sound simple, like an exercise in word play.  For me, it is serious.  It reminds me to awaken, to get past old habits and routines of consciousness and to look anew at what it takes to make the world work.  We must hold the vision of a healthy world and then stand up, step forward and act with response ability to create it.  And, more powerful than if we were each the only ones taking action, through shared response ability, we can make the world whole again. 

John Denver

Windstar Journal

Nov-Dec 1992