Agency Is Responsibility for Participation

I like the idea of agency.
Choice.
Freedom.
The ability to act.
It sounds powerful.
It feels powerful until I remember
that agency also makes me responsible.
Responsible for how I participate.
Not for controlling everything.
For noticing what I bring into it.
My attention.
My assumptions.
My effort.
My restraint.
I can blame the conditions and still be shaping them.
I can dislike the outcome and still be contributing to them.
That’s harder for me to admit.
A better question:
What am I responsible for?
That question gives agency.
It’s the proper weight.
It returns me to my part.
Agency is not getting my way.
Agency is taking responsibility for the way
I participate.