Choice

We all have decisions to make.  They are neither good nor bad, right or wrong.  They are merely the choice we choose to follow.

Sometimes we choose indecisiveness.  We worry incessantly about how our decisions will be viewed, so we opt to not make any choice.  We assume that the passivity will make the choice disappear, fade away, no longer be our problem.  The reality is that indecisiveness leads to a longer path that only ends at the same decision.  Sometimes, that's what is needed.  We need more time to face the music, and realize that the extra maturity makes the choice more clear in our minds.  The act of rolling the stone around for a while smooths the edges, making what was once painful, less so.  We are initially indecisive out of fear of the fallout, yet with the tincture of time, the monster of our thoughts gives way to the minuteness of actuality.

Sometimes we choose the bold, brash choice.  We shout our feelings and beliefs into the wind, caring little about how others will view us.  We are emboldened by our quick judgement, our lack of duress.  We lay our line in the sand and dare others to cross us.  We know that there is no other choice in the current decision.  It is freeing to not have to wait to come to the conclusion.  We are here.  We have made it!  The stage is set, and curtain is closed.

Sometimes we let others choose for us.  We create lists of pros and cons, spreadsheets, analyses that at once illuminate and darken the decision.  We involve friends and family.  We become paralyzed by the overwhelming possibility that no matter what we do, we can't make everyone happy at the same time.  So instead of us being the bad guys in the story, we pass the decision to someone else, and then take the credit for the choice that was made.

I think the events of the last several months have illuminated the paths our choices can take us on.  We are also left wondering if things would be different under other circumstances.  We will never know the outcome of how things could have been, but a choice has been made, a leader set.  We are all under the path for the next four years that was set by the choices of the majority, but not all.  We are in this together, and together must support and love those around us.