Response-ability

I have a great little book that I pick up from time to time called Be Within, Stay Above more meditations from the wisdom of the Rebbe condensation and words by Tzvi Freeman, Class One Press 2000. Each page contains a gem of wisdom on an aspect of life. I would like to quote a page titled UnProphets (p. 209):

"If we were prophets or people of vision, we would see what is important and what is not, what will bear fruits and what will remain barren. But we are simple people in an age of confusion. Our lives are filled with uncertainties--anything could happen, and we have no way of telling.

"We cannot decide which mitvah is important and which will bear fruit. Neither are we expected to make our decisions that way.

"What's expected of us is to simply grab whatever G-d sends our way, and do our very best at it. What will come of it? What is its purpose? Only He needs to know."

I love this book! To grab whatever comes our way is like being on that merry-go-round, and grabbing the brass ring, open to whatever we are to learn, and to trust that we are going in the right direction. To respond in our best way. Response-ability--the act (art?) of responding ably, to not react, but apply ourselves wholeheartedly to the choice we make as the response to an event in our lives.