[September 2004 journal entry]
As a teacher/friend commented on what his year away from high school teaching had meant for him, he introduced the idea of ‘calling’ and asked what I think about the concept. Based on our previous discussions, he anticipated that I would have reservations due to the implied anthropomorphic image of a ‘God’ who ‘calls’. I introduced ‘accountable’ as the operative term for me. I explained that, as a starting premise, I consider myself accountable for all experiences however large or small. In reality, many experiences pass without much notice or reflection. I try hard not to miss potentially pivotal experiences. To illustrate, I reflected on several pivotal experiences for which I continue to feel accountable – e.g., the discovery of historiographical questions and source criticism, exposure to chronic illness through my first wife’s illness/death, ‘friendship in the singular’ with a small circle of physicians, openings into the medical education/practice settings, . . . . The point -- accepting accountability for such experiences alters/shapes the course my life takes.
