Thinking Verbally

The English language sometimes leads us astray.

For example: the phrase ‘taking responsibility’ as in ‘I take responsibility for my actions.’  Using English in this way skews us of thinking of responsibility as something I can take and therefore have, like how I can take a quarter and put it in my pocket.  When I do that, I have the quarter in my pocket, and if I don’t do anything further, I’ll have the quarter still.

When I ‘take responsibility,’ I seem to have it like the quarter in my pocket; but the reality of the matter is a bit different, as responsibility is the relation I am taking toward something.

The relational nature of responsibility is more clearly revealed by using the phrase ‘being responsible.’  With this ‘verbal’ phrasing, the natural follow on questions are ‘to whom am I responsible’ and ‘for what am I responsible.’  It also makes it harder to think that responsibility is something I have.  Instead, I realize that I must continuously choose to maintain my attitude of responsibility toward that person for whatever I have promised.  Much harder to shirk the responsibility when I realize it is a moment-to-moment relationship I create, and that if I am not conscious and aware of my choosing, I’ll default to selfishness and irresponsibility.

January 2, 2013

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *