Balance

Balance must be sought in all things:
Between reason and emotion,
Between the needs of the many and of the individual,
Between a victim’s justice and compassion for the accused,
Between science and faith,
Between our rights and our responsibilities,
Between work, family and self,
And so on.

Balance is difficult to find,
For matters are often simpler, more certain, at extremes,
And we must be wary of such.

Even when you think you have found your balance,
Test it,
Time and again,
To ensure it remains.

Responsibility

We are all responsible for our own actions,
And in seeking to justify them we often delude ourselves,
For the final choice is always our own.

We are responsible for the way our lives touch others,
As they too are responsible for the way theirs touch ours in return.

So,
Always,
Be aware,
And accept responsibility,
For the consequences your actions have,
For both yourself and others.

Motives matter little,
Except in our own minds,
For they are mere excuses and cannot alter the outcome of events.

So too take responsibility for your beliefs,
And the actions that flow from them,
Do not defer them to some other authority,
For they are yours,
As is the responsibility for any consequences they might have,
For yourself or for others.

After all, it is easy to say,
“It’s not me, it’s God’s will.”
“It’s not me, it’s the government.”
Or, “It’s the law.”
It is you.
The final choice is always yours,
For good or ill.