PATHLIGHT: RESPONSE – ABILITY by Annie Wenger-Nabigon

Originally from the U.S., Annie now enjoys retired life at Pic River First Nation. Annie Wenger-Nabigon, MSW, RSW has been a clinical social worker since 1979 working in mental health, family therapy, and addictions services. She is a doctoral candidate at Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON. Annie also works part-time as a consultant for LYNX, owned by her husband Herb Nabigon, MSW. Herb provides traditional Anishnabek teachings and healing workshops for both Native and non-Native organizations. Together he and Annie provide training and education to professionals on a wide range of topics blending mainstream and traditional approaches in healing. They also provide cultural safety and anti-racism training. Do you have questions re: mental health, living a good life, relationships, etc. ?Annie would love to hear them and may even include your questions in a future column (published by-monthly exclusively on OntarioNewsNorth.com) Send your comments or questions to Annie via email to Pathlight@OntarioNewsNorth.com

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When I was growing up my parents frequently told me to “be responsible”. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but I usually heard it when I hadn’t done something that was expected of me. Naturally, I learned eventually that the word meant I needed to take action to complete a task that was assigned to me, and that I could not go off and play or read a good book until my job was completed.

Nature teaches us how to be responsible if we pay attention. It shows us what is needed to take care of ourselves. In the natural world animals do not eat if they do not go looking for their food, and people also do not eat if they do not grow or buy their food. When people plant a garden they need to care about the plants and make sure that the plants have the right amount of water and sunshine to flourish. Gardeners spend time pulling weeds, loosening the soil, supporting the plants, and protecting them from bugs, rabbits, deer and the neighbor’s dog! If these things, and more, are not done – if the gardener doesn’t care for the garden and the plants – there will be no food to gather.

It is hard work, this responsibility stuff!

But do we need to always think of responsibility as an unpleasant task, or something that is very hard? Are responsibilities something we carry in life as opportunities or obligations?

I prefer to think of my responsibilities as things I have chosen. These are things I am able to do because I want to do them. If I choose to be responsible for something it means no one is forcing me to do that thing, nor is anyone going to punish me if I don’t do that thing. I may disappoint myself and other people to whom I have made promises, and I maybe could not get paid, or get fired from a job if I don’t do that thing, but ultimately I am the one in charge of my choice to be “response-able”.

Today I want to pick up my responsibilities with a positive attitude, one that says “I care”. I care to do a good job, I care to do what I choose to do, I care to add something of benefit to my world, and I care to nurture my abilities. There are things I don’t know how to do that I would like to do, and I care enough to tell people what I want to do so they can help me gain more abilities. I like looking at life that way, and I like knowing that it doesn’t really matter if we have all the abilities we need. In order to be “response-able” all we need is desire to be available. If I am available my responsibilities will be a joy to fulfill and a pleasure to do (even when they are hard or when there are things I need to do that are unpleasant.)

Posted in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Health and Wellness, Indigenous Affairs, Municipal, National, Northern Ontario Headlines, PATHLIGHT: Journey to a Good Life | Comments Off on PATHLIGHT: RESPONSE – ABILITY by Annie Wenger-Nabigon

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