Responsibilities

Had dinner with a friend the other night which she reveals to us that she's getting a licensed hand gun.  One time she was living in the Museum District and she discovered someone had a key to her apartment.  Ever since she started gaining interest in guns.  Once she has her license and gun she'll be able to do something if ever the situation called for protection.  She asked me if I was interested and proceeded to tell me that once you know about guns and learn how to use it you'll be more comfortable with it.

Here's my take:  I don't want the responsibility.  Not right now anyways.  I am interested in guns ever since my brother took me out to the shooting range.  The power you hold in your hand is immense.  I can see it be very addictive for me, or can be.  I don't want to be responsible if something happened and if a friend was over and curious then something happened, etc.  Yes, we do have some very curious, busy hands type of friends.  That doesn't mean I won't be ready for the responsibility later.

So here's the real topic (if you didn't read the title)... if you understand consequences and expectations, you can be ready for responsibility.  A lot of times people jump into something but don't realize what all is involved.  They don't understand that their actions can cause deadly results.  Sometimes you have to think the worst of situations to understand the responsibility at hand.  Then, you know what to expect if you do certain things.  You choose to be responsible or not.  Your choices may affect you or someone else immediately or it can take years.  This all seems very "common sense" but I'll go with some examples.

Marriage:  I did not realize how much work goes into marriage.  You watch all those romantic comedies and you think about all the romantic scenes, the proposal, the wedding, the happy ever after.  Um... yeah, no.  There's ups, there's downs and a whole lot of compromise and understanding.  Evolve as the relationship evolves.  Making a marriage or a relationship work takes the responsibility of the people involved.  Knowing that you have someone else's happiness in your hands forces you to make decisions you may not have chosen if it was only you.

Kids:  HUGE RESPONSIBILITY that you can't get rid of for at least 18 years.  (See?  Why would I be in a rush for this?)

Driving a car:  seriously, HUGE RESPONSIBILITY... you can take someone's life or your own life within a jiffy of a second if you're not driving safely.  I think this is one of the saddest ways to go because it's always an accident and it could more than always be prevented.

Pets:  They depend on you to feed them and keep them healthy.  It's a chore you have to do multiple times daily depending on the pet.

Work:  You take on what you can handle or you take on what work thinks you can handle.  In either case you accept positions where you agree with the responsibility level or you move on.  If you take on that manager position, you become responsible for your reports.  If you're higher up the pyramid then you become more responsible for where the company heads which involves everyone in the company.  In the case of Enron and all the other companies "Fun with Dick and Jane" were based, decisions can dent a whole economy.

I never really stopped to think how much responsibility exists within any given day or time until my gun conversation the other night.  It's funny how in every situation you have people who either want the responsibility (usually because of the rewards) or those who don't (usually because of the consequences/risks).