Who do we choose to be?

Watching Trump board Marine One for the final time, I admittedly breathed a sigh of relief.

And yet I am reminded - the future of this country does not rest on the shoulders of one person or one office.

And the truth is: It never did.

To blame our current circumstance on one person is to abdicate our collective responsibility for how we got here. We all shoulder responsibility, I shoulder responsibility.

Every time I've been unloving, dismissive or felt superior to another, I contributed to this mess.

Every time I threw up my hands and said "not my problem", failing to voice concern, I added to the swirl

And every time I allowed cynicism to intervene thinking, "that's too hard", "that'll never happen", I've limited myself and others of what is possible.

Over the years, one of the hardest and most difficult lessons I've learned is to fully claim and take responsibility for personal agency. It is far easier to blame another or to bemoan a circumstance than to say, "I am always at choice."

Here's the rub: I am always actively choosing what I think, what I do, how I feel. Even a subconscious choice is a choice. Not choosing, is itself, a choice.

To my fellow Americans, as we turn the chapter on a new presidency, my question remains "who do we choose to be?" and "how do we want to show up?"

It doesn't matter who is in office. It never did. We don't need to wait for New Years Day to make a change in our life. And we didn't need a new President to shift the trajectory of this nation.

We are the soul of this nation. And we are at choice with how we listen to one another, care for one another, and love one another.

Let us choose wisely.