Responsibility Is Proportionate To Opportunity

                                                                  Everyday is a brand new day,
                                                                  everyday is a journey.




If the soft hand of winning Pleasure leads
By living waters, and through flowery meads,
Where all is smiling, tranquil, and serene,
Oh! teach me to elude each latent snare,
And whisper to my sliding heart, "Beware!"
With caution let me hear the Syren's voice,
And doubtful, with a trembling heart rejoice.
If friendless in a vale of tears I stray,
Where briars wound, and thorns perplex my way,
Still let my steady soul thy goodness see,
And, with a strong confidence, lay hold on Thee.
—Anna Letitia Barbauld.

I think I have mentioned at some point that one of my managers loves to post an encouraging quote on the board for everyone. It has become a weekly or at times, a daily thing. The title is his current quote of the week. I could not stop thinking about this quote. No, there is something wrong with it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Why is it bothering me so much? To make sure that I am not misconstruing the definition, I decided to look it up. I was correct in my assumption of the word. So again, why is it bothering me so much to warrant a constant thought process on the matter.

I think we are fed the same concept as we are growing up or going through school. We are taught that if we do a good job, put in the hours, be a team leader or come in on time every single work day, that all our efforts will be appreciated and rewarded. This is what we are taught, right? All of that equals to us being responsible adults.

The truth of the matter is that it's not always the case. Like I said, we are taught one thing and then we graduate into the real world of work life. We are thrown in with high expectations of making good money, gaining promotions and recognitions. We actually believe that responsibility is proportionate to opportunity. All of our good work will be recognized with opportunities opening up right before our eyes. We go for it. Then we realize that it isn't how we were led to believe.

In the real world nepotism not only exists, but thrives. People with less experience than you get the position or the raise. Yes, the opportunities are there, but we don't always get a chance to experience them. We don't always win. Sometimes we just lose, no matter how hard we worked for it. So I'm sorry, but I don't agree with that quote completely.

Okay, so why get so upset about it. You know why, because I have seen it in my own life, my children's life. It's there in all of our lives and whereas it is encouraging to be fed that concept, it is not the truth. It is correct for us to grow up responsible and be taught how to be hard workers. It's also correct to tell the truth that the real world is not always fair and at times, all your hard work will mean nothing. People who do less than you will sometimes reap your benefits.

Life is not a black or white existence. There is gray, blue and green mixed in between. We don't live in a perfect world with perfect guidelines for the perfect life. Life is hard, harder than we let on as we raise our children. We try to encourage and prepare them for the world, the real world. Then we have to prepare ourselves to catch them as they reel back from the blunt force of it.

Have a blessed day everyone.