Daily Meditation for December 27, 2024

Denis Waitley, a respected author and productivity consultant, says that “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” As Americans in today’s culture, we may have learned from childhood to value independence, but we may not have learned to value responsibility equally well. Looking at our nation and world, we can see the dangers of independence not balanced by responsibility for the common good. Most of us like to feel in control, but to be human is to be dependent on God and interdependent with other human beings. If we deny our interdependence and vulnerability, we face disillusionment when tragedies remind us—disease and death; floods and fires; tornados, hurricanes, and mass murders. Total independence is not only a false ideal, it is simply impossible. Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General, said, “If we are to go on living together on this earth, we must all be responsible for it.”

By Delores Dufner, OSB