Choices


Every day every one of us makes choices.  It doesn't matter how old or young we are.  It doesn't matter if we are male or female.  All humans every day make choices. After all, you chose to click on the link and read what I have written.  (For that, I thank you.)

We make choices without even consciously thinking about it.  Do I get out of bed and go to the bathroom or do I wet the bed?  Is that really a choice?  Yes it is!  Do I eat this sandwich for lunch?  Do I eat something else?  Do I not eat at all?  There's another set of choices.  Do I go to work today or do I take the day off?  We are constantly making choices.

I'm not going to categorize choices into good or bad; because what might be a "good" choice in one person's mind (for example a child deciding to decorate his/her room by drawing on the walls; thus showing his/her creativity and imagination) could be "bad" in another's (what is the parent of that child going to think?)  When we are very young, we tend to make choices without thinking of consequences.  Hopefully as we grow and mature that changes and we realize that every choice we make, whether it be "simple" or "complex" has consequences.  Do I eat this sandwich for lunch seems like a simple enough choice, but what if it's do I eat this sandwich for lunch or do I save it and share it with my child so that we have something to eat tonight?  What if the do I go to work today means facing risk and danger?  If I don't go in, how does that affect those I work with (and for)?  Our choices, which may outwardly seem simple, can affect many, many people; some of whom we may never see or even meet.

We make choices about what and who to believe.  Even I hand you a dollar bill and say this is a dollar bill and it is worth 100 pennies  you CAN chose not to believe it.  You can chose to say, "No that is just a piece of paper and it is worth nothing."  I can show you fact and figures and proof of something and still you can chose not to believe it.  You can chose to believe the world is flat and if that is what you truly chose to believe, nothing I say or present to you is going to change that.

Choices are personal.  They aren't necessarily made out of facts.  Often they are made from an emotional standpoint.  Would you run into a burning building to save a person?  Is it a stranger or is it your child?  Would your decision be different based on that?  I might say with great conviction that I would NEVER steal something.  But what if I was faced with the choice of not stealing a loaf of bread or not providing 5 family members with a piece of bread to eat?  I might make a different choice.  I might think that I would NEVER stay with an abusive partner, but what if the choice was to stay with an abusive partner who provided shelter and food for my family or leave without anywhere to go or anyone to turn to?  We cannot judge other people's choices when we don't know their story or full circumstances.

What we CAN do, IF we CHOSE to, is make informed choices/decisions.  When deciding if X is better than Y, we CAN do research.  We can look to multiple sources for facts.  We can look to trusted sources. (For example do you want MY opinion on whether now is the time to have brain surgery or do you want the opinion of an experienced medical professional?)  We can speak to friends and acquaintances who have been through similar situations and learn of their experiences.  (Don't ask me about being a pet owner, when I don't have one and my allergies prevent me from having many.)

I can't tell you what do chose, but I can encourage you to make an informed one (should you have the luxury of time.)  I would say to think before you decide.  How will your choice affect you?  How about your family?  Your friends?  How about people you don't even know?  (Does that matter to you? Maybe it does not.)

Every choice, no matter how big or small, has a consequence.  You choice could have repercussions that you never imagined.  So I encourage you to imagine them.  And to be considerate when making your choices.


But that's only my advice.  Remember, it's your choice to take or not...









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