Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody!
This poem by Charles Osgood is about four people:
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
Which one do you know best?
“There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason NOT to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this the thing you have to ask,
is WHO exactly will it be who’ll carry out this task.
ANYBODY could have told you that EVERYBODY knew,
that this was something SOMEBODY would surely have to do.
NOBODY was unwilling, ANYBODY had the ability,
but NOBODY thought he was supposed to be the one.
It seemed to be a job that ANYBODY could have done,
If ANYBODY thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since EVERYBODY recognized that ANYBODY could,
EVERYBODY took for granted that SOMEBODY would.
But NOBODY told ANYBODY that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And NOBODY took it on himself to follow through and DO,
What EVERYBODY thought that SOMEBODY would do.
When what EVERYBODY needs so did not get done at all,
EVERYBODY was complaining that SOMEBODY dropped the ball.
ANYBODY then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And EVERYBODY looked around for SOMEBODY to blame.
SOMEBODY should have done the job and EVERYBODY would have,
But in the end NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have.”
How easy it is to expect someone else to do what needs to be done. Because of that, we may think we aren’t responsible. But responsibility can’t be avoided quite so easily.
Erica Jong, the novelist, said:
Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”
And I believe that we as both individuals and as a community should be looking to bring to ourselves a sense of responsibility along with a sense of empowerment. When we can achieve both, we’ve done something remarkable.
Who made us overweight? Not MacDonalds!
Who is responsible for the state of the economy?
Who is responsible for the education of the children?
The idea that it takes a village to raise a child points to the responsibility we each/all have to contribute, to share our energy, to work towards common goals, and to be responsible for the outcomes. (notice the word “work”?)
So, what do you think?
Where does your responsibility and your empowerment come from?
4 Comments
Perhaps what immobilizes folks is the vastness of whatever the problem might be. It just seems far, far too much for just us to handle, so we don’t do anything.
For me, the issues of animal welfare, food sources, environmental stuff are biggies. There are lots of other things, too, of course, but these are the ones I’ve chosen to tackle from my little corner of the woods. Since I really can only do small stuff, I do that. Mostly nobody else is even aware of what I’m up to. Does it make a difference? I believe it does. If nothing else, these little things help me to feel empowered to make the world a better place.
As for the all the other big issues in the world….well, I’m just hoping SOMEBODY will be able to step up to the plate. Maybe I’m just abdicating responsibility for those things….
Fay, I think many of us feel helpless about the big issues, even the three you focus on. But knowing YOU have chosen the issues you want to/can work on is encouraging to the rest of us. As each of us chooses our OWN areas of work, we all can be hopeful about the overall results of ALL our efforts!
Who did this ? I never figured out who Who was. What is this ? I never found What either. It is important to at least get out and do something useful. One person at a time, you may be surprised at what happens. In college most around me drank beer but they knew I didn’t, so I always got Strawberry Pop from them.A few saw I didn’t and they stopped drinking beer too. You might not know it but something good happens sometimes because you are out and about being yourself. Now I spend time each week at St Paul’s Episcopal Church helping feed hungry folks. We get lots of smiles and “thank you” from many who now know where they can find a warm place with good food. Just one person at a time can do more than you might realize. Earl
Earl, how very, very true! Each of us has more of an effect on others that we know, even some folks we don’t know!