Walk along the beach one day and notice the footprints of those that walked before.

Some with deep heel strikes into the sand, others with toes gouging the sand as the person thrusts forward into the day. Each set of imprints can be felt and can tell its own story.

The ocean rises up the beach and as it recedes, washes the path ready for the next person. Sometimes the imprints are so deep that it takes a number of washes to clear the traces that were left behind.

Along life’s path, we all walk in a certain way and we all leave our imprint on places and people. This is our ultimate and inescapable responsibility. There is nothing that we touch, say or do that is not registered by the sands of time, and sometimes what we leave behind takes a number of washes before the path is clear once again.

As a society we invent ways to mask our footprints: the stimulating drinks that give the illusion that our steps are not as heavy and fatigued as they actually are, the photo-shopped images to keep the illusion of surface beauty intact, the false smile or the phrase “it’s all good.” There are multiple mechanisms and faces we show the world to pretend everything is okay.

But everything is registered by the sands of time. They have no interest in the facade and can only ever register the energetic imprint we leave behind.

Did we walk with joy, sadness, anger, reverence, appreciation, or bitterness? It all registers and can been seen and felt, and we can even be affected by the imprints of others.

Everything is registered by the sands of time, but this doesn’t mean we should be scared to walk, because what is registered is not done to judge or punish, but to allow us the grace of responsibility. We are free to walk how we choose and to have enough integrity to be honest about the wake and trail that we leave behind.

Energetic Responsibility is the new frontier in integrity, ethics and responsibility. It is a willingness to be held accountable for not only how things look, but also how they feel. It is an acceptance of the fact that we all walk the same stretch of beach time and time again, and the deeper the imprint, the harder we and the earth have to work to clear them.

The new age may have reminded people about the fact of energy, but The Way of The Livingness is reminding people that being aware of energy is only the beginning. Our Energetic Responsibility is to be aware of the type of energy we are using.

By Joel Levin

Further Reading:
Everything Is Energy
Energetic Responsibility – How responsible Are We Willing To Be?
A Study On Commitment And Energy