To Engage Or Not To Engage

To engage or not to engage
That is the question!
When, where and how?
With whom?

Engaging means
Committing myself to a course
Which requires
Digging in
Dialogue
Deliberation
Decision-making
And accountability.
It means
Being there
Paying attention,
Fighting it out
Staying the course.

Disengaging means
Letting-go of the responsibility
And the authority
Of the accountability
And the identity.
It means
Transitioning out,
Turning it over
Detaching from all that engagement
Requires
and
Offers.

Engaging requires energy
Disengaging requires release.
Engaging says “I am connected.”
Disengaging says, “I am letting go.”
If I choose to engage, I am stepping up to the plate
Taking a seat at the table
Making my voice heard.

When I disengage,
I am moving away,
Transforming my energy
Going in a new direction.

When I “plug in”
I take a spot
I get juice
I charge “the machine.”
When I unplug, I leave a spot open.
For someone else
To plug in
To take the spot.

Whichever I choose,
It cannot be done lightly
It is not without consequences
For me
And
For those around me.

                                                                - Poem by Leslie Dashew | January 2005
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