The responsibility of selfhood

Rev. Jeffrey Symynkywicz, April 13, 2008

Responsibility does not kill
the real self,
the deep, inner self
that rests face to face with God,

It kills the little self, perhaps--
the mean and petty self,
that whines and kicks and screams
if it doesn’t get its own little way.

Responsibility tears us away
from the quick sugar fix of life,
so that we may truly experience
life’s real sweetness all the more deeply.

It tears us away
from a road that has become too easy--
deathly, comfortably numb--
so that we may have this wild God as our helpmate
and be sustained and upheld in our work
by arms that never fail us,
a friend who never leaves.

If we focus on our little selves
we lose sight of the deeper soul inside,
that living Spirit who dwells closer to our beings
than our very breath,
that animates the very blood
that courses through our veins--
and unclogs the arteries of our souls
when we dare reach out to one another.

When we dare to engage in serving others
our thoughts take flight.
they love, embrace all life,
feel fire and wind, warmth and cold,
and do their parts at last to change the world.

jbs
2/22/99 - 3/23/99 - 4/29/01 - 4/13/08

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