Responsibility

This one's been on my mind for a while, and I am just now getting around to writing about it, so sorry for the delay or to dig up past horrors.

Like everyone else I was horrified to hear about the heinous tragedy that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary a few months ago. It was truly unimaginable to think that at this point in time, someone could do something so evil and horrific to the most innocent and vulnerable people around us. There's been a lot of political debate since on gun control and whether or not certain measures should be taken to protect our citizens, and I'm not going to get into all of that here- the words I have will not be enough to change anyone's mind right now. What I do have to propose is a challenge on responsibility. Not for what is happening now or what has happened, but what is to come.

No surprise, I'm a musical theatre fan and a bit of a nerd. Most of the music I listen to is cast recordings, and after the Sandy Hook event, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle, and a song from Children of Eden came on.  Quick recap of the musical- it's a retelling of the story of Genesis from The Garden of Eden to the story of Noah and The Flood. The final song is called, "In the Beginning," and is sung as Noah and his family emerge from the ark to a new, fresh world that is now theirs to prepare, protect, and prosper.

This step is one again our first
We set our feet upon a virgin land
We hold the promise of the earth
In our hands...
No flood from heaven comes again
No deluge will destroy and purify
We hold the fate of man and men
In our hands...
 
Now at this dawn so green and glad
We pray that we may long remember
How lovely was the world we had
In the beginning...

As the song continues, they realize that from now on, they are fully responsible for the future that awaits them.

Of all the gifts we have received
One is most precious and most terrible
The will of each of us is free
It's in our hands

And if one day we hear a voice
If he shouold speak again, our silent father
All he will tell us is the choice
Is in our hands

Our hands can choose to drop the knife
Our hearts can choose to stop the hating
For ev'ry moment of our life
Is the beginning...

Things don't have to stay the way that they are or have been. It is up to us to make the changes we wish to see in the world and the power is within us. It can happen at any point we choose, because each moment is a chance to change the future.

There is no journey gone so far
So far we cannot stop and change direction
No doom is written in the stars
  It's in our hands... 

The final part of the song is a plea to those who will come after and be left with the legacy left behind.

We cannot know what wil occur
Just make the journey worth the taking
And pray we're wiser than we were
In the beginning
It's the beginning
Now we begin...

Children of Eden
Grant us your pardon
All that we leave to you
is the unknown

Children of Eden
Seek for your garden
You and your children to come
Some day to come home
 

My challenge to myself is to look at every choice I make and make sure that whatever I do is something I can be proud of in the future and will leave a legacy of hope and compassion to those who will live in this world after me. We are all on this crazy journey together, and we each have to stand up and do our part to make sure that we are not only fixing the mistakes of our past but living in the present to provide for the future.