Willingness to Take Responsibility

“What if he doesn’t accept
my apology?” asked the CEO.

“His response
is his responsibility.
The question I’m asking
is what responsibility
are you willing to take?” I remarked.

“My responsibility?” he asked.

“Yes,
whether your apology
is accepted or not,
which is within his ability
to respond,
thus his response-ability
and his choice,
are you willing to choose apology
simply because
it is within your response-ability?” I replied.

“…
I am.” he replied.

“Why?” I probed.

“It’s funny.
I don’t know why,
but just thinking about it
makes me feel healed.” he reflected.

Apology as Load Sharing

When someone gives us
an apology
we need to receive,
the load of a burden we’ve been carrying
becomes shared
with the person
who gave
the apology.

When someone accepts
our apology
we need accepted,
the load of a burden we’ve been carrying
becomes​ shared
with the person
who accepted
the apology.