a foolish consistency

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“I cannot coddle you here. I cannot, must not, hold your hand and give you answers. I will not give you answers you already have. I refuse to dance this dance with you, though I may long to – if only to have you in my arms a while.”

In life, we always have choices. We always have choices, whether we acknowledge them or not, whether we handle them aggressively or passively, trying to shun responsibility. We can choose not to confront things, we can eschew responsibility, but in doing so we never cease to be responsible for just that choice.

I could say that the important thing is always to acknowledge every choice you make; but that is just another choice.

“You can run from this. You can choose to simply not deal with it, as you seem to be doing. That is a choice, a choice. That is your choice to make, and a choice I freely grant you, one I will not challenge, for I refuse to force you to confront me. I have not done so until now. I have always given you full responsibility for your choices. I have not treated you as a child. I have always given you full responsibility for your choices – too much responsibility, perhaps – responsibility you have shirked, denied, and refused – responsibility with which you have not followed through. You can choose to run from this, eschew responsibility, deny concern, and refuse to confront it. It would be consistent.”

Some might say consistency is necessary, preferred. Today, I lean fully toward Emerson’s assertion that, “a foolish consistency is the hobbgobblin of little minds.”