Act-Human Acumen

I woke up the other day thinking I needed to look up the word "acumen". Not at all certain what it meant, but knowing the root was probably 'acute', I realized that today, like many other days, my (God)Daddy was playing a game of 'hide-and-go-seek' with me. You see, His gift to me is that I hear common words in an uncommon way. My gift back to Him is to write what I hear and to right what I see! To that end, as I immediately grabbed my, ever so close, digital dictionary (iPhone) and looked up the word, I had an aha moment as I heard the phrase “Act-Human Acumen”! A.H.A.!

Novel idea, right?! I feel like on any given day I have a love-hate relationship with these United States of America, the nation in which I had the privilege of being born. If I did watch the news, which I don’t for sanity reasons, I think I would be tempted to give up on humanity because of the inhumane ways we too often treat one another. Where did we go wrong? Family values? Entitlement mentality? Bankruptcy budgeting? Educational system? Politics? Faith?

So many questions. Speaking of which, what did that word mean anyway? If you haven't looked it up already…

Acumen: “the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain, such as ‘business acumen' or know-how.”

Well how does a person learn how to 'know-how' to make good judgments and decisions? We learn from the adults in our lives during our formative years. Most impactfully, we learn from those that serve in a parental role. It is our job to teach children what is right and wrong, ultimately equipping them to develop their own opinions by use of right, and hopefully righteous, reasoning.

Of course, children naturally notice differences, but I am persuaded that the many 'isms' that currently plague our society are inane rather than innate. 'Littles' watch how 'bigs' behave with respect to ideas, things, and other people, and discern congruence more than should be comfortable for any of us. It truly does take a village, and you know what that means? Each of us have the opportunity to become part of the answer!

And remember that gift I told you God gave me? Well, I'm unique but not special in that He gave you one too! For my part, my mission and mandate is “to affect change in the lives of the people I do not know and will never have the privilege of meeting, by inspiring the greatness in those that I do!"

So let me encourage you to find your gift and use it to shine the light for others, big and small. Whether your children, neighbors, or strangers, how you live your life is instructing small people whether or not to live small minded. Those little ears will hear what you say, but they will listen to your character and how you play your role in the continually unfolding, global drama that will ultimately develop or destroy each of our Act-Human Acumens!

So in the early hours of the morning as you ease into consciousness, even before you feel fully ‘woke’, consider this little story of a father speaking to his son, as a charge to you and to me. Feel free to adjust the nouns to all men and women as we strategize our steps for all boys and girls for the sake of all humans...!

A father says to his son: “You must always be careful where you walk!”

Without missing a beat, the son replies to his to father,

“I will be walking in your footsteps...you be careful where YOU walk!"

Stevey-Wonderfu! Legters is a worshipper, wife, singer-songwriter, wordsmithing Word lover, blogger (www.wonwordsworth.wordpress.com), and most notably, OGii (Grammy) to AJ. She is a member of Citizen Heights Church in Washington DC, where she serves as part of the pastoral team, along with Lyman, her husband of 24 years. Stevey likes to say she's in the exhort-export business and lives into her God-given vision to encourage others to encourage others.