Choices

I read somewhere that in order of priority, breath and choice are two of our most valuable treasures. The value of breath is obvious. Why would choice come so close on the list to a life sustaining biological function though? Choice directs our days, our thoughts, our lives. Wikipedia defines choice this way. "Choice consists of the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them." Sounds simple enough. Every moment is a choice. What colour socks to wear and in my younger son's case which two colours of socks to wear. To drive the highway or the backroads. To stop for coffee or get to the meeting on time. Endless choices each day. One after another. Driven to sameness by our tendency to make choices on autopilot. Reacting without thought, we float through our days.

We can choose to think positive. We can choose to be happy. We can choose to leave situations that do not feed our soul. Because by not choosing, you are still choosing. A profound thought, because when we do not choose to make a change, we are choosing to stay where we are. Spend a minute thinking about that in the context of what you want out of life. It is always easier to stay where you are. A funny thing that.

A friend showed me a cooking school in Tuscany today and it reminded me of the choices I am not making. My teenagers will always be my priority so when they are relatively independent I will need to make my choice to step off and go. I was reading about a woman who did make that choice and she said that there are great things and not so great things about the decision. I appreciated her honesty. But she does conclude that after five years of moving around she still is fulfilled by the experiences of trying new things. She says you are never so fully alive as when you are repeatedly experiencing new things, new foods and new places.

There is an entertaining blog about three women who leave their big New York ad agency jobs and travel the world. They too have no regrets. And a book to their credit.

Choices. We all make them. You make them every minute of the day. "Life is the sum of all your choices." ~Albert Camus