Accountability
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So here we are in October… just a few short days until the election. Accountability is the subject of this month’s poem, as it relates to the upcoming election. However, the need for accountability is everywhere; on every level, at every age and, of course, it begins at home.”

Other descriptions of accountability are: “walking your talk,” “keeping your promise,” “being mindful of what you say,” “following through” — “being reliable.”  I read something the other day that fits in this discussion: “Be accountable for your feelings and actions, because you chose to have them.”

And what must follow from being accountable (or not) is this gem: “When you choose your behavior, you choose your consequences.”  Taking ownership of one’s thoughts and actions almost automatically makes one accountable.

Whether running a household, a corporation or a national government, accountability is the major basic requirement!

Be accountable, and be sure to vote in the upcoming election. Vote early, if possible, and vote wisely.

Always remember, whatever the question, love is the answer.

 

ACCOUNTABILITY


Accountability is the measure of a leader’s height.
A leader who is accountable will do things right:
Calling leaders to be responsible before placing blame,
And to realize leading others is not just a game.

Conscience binds and accountability liberates…
Failure to follow through will negatively translate.
Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge…
Fact-finding and truth-telling will give you an edge.

Unless you’re dead, you can keep your promises;
It’s easier if you can examine your old prejudices.
Never promise more than you can perform.
Always strive higher — much higher than the norm.

The price of greatness is responsibility,
Which gives your actions a strong sense of credibility.
A leader must be accountable to his nation’s laws.
Decisions cannot be made by “drawing straws.”

Being reliable is the basis of accountability.
“Walking your talk” illustrates your dependability.
It’s always the right time to do things right.
Your actions can be trusted. They are honest and forthright.

Life is better when people keep their word.
When they don’t, the meaning of their words becomes blurred.
I strive to be accountable for my thoughts, words and actions.
Being less than honest will spoil all interactions.

The only thing in your way is you.
So check your motives, and push your way through.
You are the reason for your success or failure.
Accountability is what good citizens prefer.

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Kathryn
You Live and You Die by the Choices You Make
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Choices… we make them every day… sometimes many times a day!

They may range in “size” from very small to sometimes very large. Some of them we make automatically… like taking the next step, or reaching for a glass in the cupboard. And some of them — like deciding what you want to do with your life… or deciding on a life mate… or sorting out your beliefs — can feel insurmountable!

Of course, the simple choices (the ones in the middle) might include what to eat for dinner or what to wear when you get dressed in the morning.

We, in America, are guaranteed Freedom of Choice — at this time in history, we have more choice than any group of people ever has had before, and thus, more freedom and autonomy.

The poem “You Live And You Die By The Choices You Make” is an observation of mine of a few years back… a recognition that what had happened to me in my life was a direct result of the choices I had made. I spoke with friends and family about the subject, and learned that they, too, saw the connections between the choices they had made and the results which had formed their lives.

So, I share my poem for the September 2020 Poem Of The Month, in the hopes it will resonate with you during these interesting times. Currently, we are faced with many choices that are not in the category of “automatic” or “simple.” They may be life-threatening or life-saving. The choices are up to us! And, as the line in the poem urges, we must “Make sure they’re based on love, not fear.

Whatever the question, love is the answer.

 

YOU LIVE AND DIE BY THE CHOICES YOU MAKE


Your life is the sum total of the choices you make.
You choose the directions that your life will take.
You decide what you want, you hold the wheel,
So steer your course and your life will reveal
The results of your choices. It’s always your move.
As it unfolds, you look to improve.


It’s your choices that show what you really are —
More than your abilities — oh man, by far!
You are solely responsible for the actions you choose.
You must accept the consequences and risk the blues.
In deeds, words, and thoughts throughout your lifetime;
Your awareness to detail must work all the time.


Mankind’s greatest gift, or course, if you will
Is that we have free choice, and it takes skill
To determine the motive for the choices as they appear —
Make sure they’re based on love, not fear.
Sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude,
And sometimes it results in gratitude.


The key to your universe? Your ability to choose!
It’s very important and nothing to abuse.
Only by exercising your choosing right
Can you exercise the ability to change your plight.
And accidental choices are as important (yours and mine)
As the careful choices you make by design.


Other people’s choices are nothing more
Than another alternative for you to explore.
You may make a thousand little choices each day.
All of them count as you walk your pathway.
Some of your choices may cause you strife…
Manage your choices and you’ll manage your life.


The end result of your life on this planet
Will be the sum total of your choices. You plan it.
Freedom comes to you when that power you keep —
The power to choose. You sow and you reap.
Make good decisions and in them rejoice.
There’s no life as complete as the life lived by choice.

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Kathryn
Mend the World
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Though this poem was written a few years ago, the message continues to be appropriate now. If each and every one of us, like the imagined couple in their mud house in Africa, were to maintain just and joyful relations with each other, imagine “What A Wonderful World” it could become! (Thank you, Satchmo!)

Whatever the question, love is the answer!

 

MEND THE WORLD


When strife occurs between nations —
Between neighbors or loved ones, as well,
An unease is felt by everyone,
It’s shadows to foretell.
Pain and misery will follow
Until you can put it to rest.
There’s a way to reduce the tension;
This might describe it best:


We are a part of the great woven texture
Of our world and the universe unending.
When fabric has suffered a break
The metaphor for healing is mending.
When a couple in their mud house in Africa
Maintain just and joyful relations,
The world is a little bit better place,
And they deserve our congratulations.


As members of the world community
We must run our own checks and balances.
Then make repairs to the tear in the web
And enhance, with love, our alliances.
Review your actions the past twenty-four hours;
Imagine your ability to refashion.
Mend your world one correction at a time,
Then live your life with passion

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Kathryn