Responsibility is the ability to respond to any situation —

This is a statement that someone said in response to a comment I made about responsibility in a 2 day (weekend) training I completed a couple of hours ago. The focus of the session was all about the land and how we find our place in relation to the land we are in, the land we come from, and the land of our ancestors. And soil. 

This phrase 'responsibility is the ability to respond to any situation' is commonly credited to American actress and comedian Lucille Ball. However, the more nuanced concept of "response-ability" has its roots in the work of both Viktor Frankl (Austrian neurologist, psychologist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor) and Stephen Covey (American educator, author, businessman, and speaker).

They both emphasized the capacity to choose one's response. 

In my work I often say the context and situation may remain unchanged, but our response to it is the thing we have control over and can alter should we wish to. 

Frankl's approach emphasizes the importance of finding meaning in life as a primary motivational force. It highlights the freedom to choose one's attitude, and Covey stressed "response-ability" as the ability to choose one's reaction. 

Thinking about response-ability today in relation to the soil and land made me reflect on the decisions I am unconsciously making when I drink water out of a plastic bottle, or eat meat or fish without being conscious of its source. 

Responsibility is not just in how we take on things, it is also in how we show up and what others perceive of us, and receive of us. 

This week I invite you to think about what is the essence you want to share with others, and how you are able to respond to any situation from the place of it being resourced from your personal meaning of life. 

Have a great week,

Saiyyidah