What can I do about it?

How am I complicit in the conditions I said I don’t want?

How am I responsible?

I thought I was good at taking responsibility, but if I shine a light on these questions I realize that there is vast room for improvement.

We have a lot of gravel on a sidewalk near our house leftover from winter. I have silently complained for months. When is the city going to come clean it up? As city employees clean up the area for an event, the gravel still remains…and there’s enough that I think it will be annoying to many. Possibly even harmful as the event involves kids riding homemade cars in the area.

And only now do I realize that they probably have no idea the gravel is there! I silently complained that somebody else did not take responsibility for a situation they didn’t know existed instead of asking and making that simple request.