The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.
author-Maimonides
Yes, no maybe so,
Yes, no, maybe so. (House on Mango Street- Sandra Cisneros)
Indecision is the bane of a rational mind. Logically, we all know how the world should progress. Our way- or the highway. If everyone did exactly what I told them the world would be a better place- kittens and puffy clouds would abound, war would be abolished, flowers would bloom…..etc. But the truth is, even if I had such power, I wouldn’t really know what to do with it. I don’t really know what to do with the phenomenal power I already have over my own life. Hence, my indecision-which inevitably leads to stagnation. They say indecision is, in and of itself a decision. A decision to neither move forward or back, but to stay stuck in fear and ambivalence. They say even a bad decision is better than no decision at all. I don’t know who “they” are, but I hate them- stuck up know-it-alls! But “they” are right. It’s better to move than not on the highway of life. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little too much like potential road-kill.
Did you ever read those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books when you were a kid?- you know, the kind that every few pages gave you a choice- face the monster, or run away. Go down the hidden tunnel or run away. Face the pirates or….(you know). Not many options. Life isn’t really like a book. The ending isn’t one we can peek at at the end of the book, and the choices really aren’t life or death. Not actual death- more like “living” death- stultification. Then again, for some of us close to the edge… Actually, for every one of us who truly understands that this life is all we have….hmm, maybe life really is kind of like those CYOA books after all-times a million. But you can only run away for so long before decisions are forced on you – and when decisions are forced on you, often, so is regret.
Making meaningful choices takes logic, analysis, and whimsy. Yes, whimsy. Because if we cannot imagine how things can be better, than we have no choice but to accept things the way they are. Whimsy and risk are just as important to decisions as logic- because they take into effect what cannot be seen- but only felt and intuited. Taking the “road less traveled” is not a promise of better things, only things that are different. But Frost is definitely right, in that, sometimes, “that [makes] all the difference.”
Take a look into your future- gaze into a crystal ball, gaze at your naval (ewww!) , do whatever it takes- but make a choice today. Feel the power in deciding your own future-for good or bad, it’s yours to make. Take a step towards a dream, take a step out of a bad relationship-with others or with yourself. Take a step toward love, and a step out of fear. Be a man (or woman!), not a mouse- captain of your own ship, your own fate and sail beyond the sunset (Heinlein). Choose your own adventure, write your own chapter, and make a happy ending that’s all your own. *
Today’s mantra:
Universe I will trust you, knowing that you are contained within me, to fulfill my wishes, to help me live my best life and to be my highest self. I know that my greatest power is my ability to love and that my compassion draws others to me so that I may be loved in return. So today, I choose to trust that you will send me what and who I need-that they are already here and I have only to receive them. For this, I give thanks.
*Failing all that- you can of, of course, always retreat back to the Magic 8 Ball- give it a try below!
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