On my visit to the library the other day, a man reading a newspaper caught my attention. Actually, it was the newspaper headline that grabbed me: Hopefuls Debate Apathy.

“Apathy” was the road I travelled on for many years.

When I looked at all the problems in the world, I became overwhelmed. So I think I put all those things that bothered me into a ‘room’ in my mind and let my response to them be apathy.

Apathy was much easier to manage than deep hurt, or anger, or fear. You could get through the day, and do what you had to do.

But now I’m at a point in my life where the last thing I want to be is apathetic.

I want to be the person who sees the possibility in the problems.

I want to engage with life, to look at all of it with caring and compassion, and with a sense of vision and hope.

This intention makes room for the most resourceful part of me to show up, rather than the overwhelmed one.

I want to live in a “No Apathy Zone.”

P.S. When I got closer to the newspaper, I saw that it was “Bills.” not “Bulls.” As Roseanne Roseannadanna (Gilda Radner’s character on Saturday Night Live) used to say, “Never Mind!” I liked “Bulls” better, so I kept it. Artistic License.

Filed under: Being a Reinventer, Adventures of a Reinventer, Lynne's Reinvention Journey on March 28th, 2009