Rev. Rita MeKila Herring
Universal Brotherhood Movement
When you think of energy, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Chances are your answer wasn’t ‘accountability.’ Wouldn’t it be nice if that truly was the first thing that came to most of our minds? Let’s face it, day in and day out we all expend energy. Every single thing we do requires energy. The thoughts we allow to flow through our minds are powered by energy. The act of looking at something and seeing it requires energy to do so. There simply is not a single thing that we do whether automatically or with consciousness that can be done without the expenditure of energy.
Having said that, just how accountable are you for the type of energy that you spend every day. Do you utilize the precious gift of energy in ways that uplift and empower the people you come in contact with? Or do you throw this most powerful fuel around in damaging ways? Have you felt the power of a smile? Likewise, is there any denying the force behind stink eye?
Sometimes we wonder how we can improve the world. What can we possibly do to make a difference? If we all took responsibility for the mana behind our actions and showed respect for the gift of that mana by being accountable for how it’s spent … we’d see just how much our efforts ripple out. We’d see how seemingly tiny changes we make within ourselves have much larger impacts that grow exponentially as they touch people and continue on to inspire changes in others. Let’s make an effort to be more aware of how we’re spending our allotments of energy as we journey through the experiences life brings.
Originally published in The Garden Island Newspaper July 25, 2008.
