Choices and Chances 12-30-2014
By John W. Vander Velden
How
would life be, if…?
We enjoyed several movies
this holiday season, where the main character felt certain that they had made
the wrong choice. Over and over we
watched as the character wished for the life they had passed up, certain that
it would be better than the over complex world that they felt swept them away. I know, I know, it’s an overdone
scenario. Even at the film’s beginning
we knew that after spending time in their alternate universe, they would come
to appreciate the life they had. Yet
it’s kinda’ fun watching how desperate they grow, longing for what they had
tossed aside at the story’s beginning.
Yes, the stories are
cheesy and exaggerated, but there is an “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of message
buried in those stories. A lesson for
all of us. For life is full of choices
and each choice brings with it a chance.
Everyone – and I do mean everyone – looks back at the choices they have
made and wonders -- how would life be if…?
For there are choices we have made that we regret. Our past is filled with many of these. Some made on impulse. Others out of spite. There were those decisions that were just
plain stupid. We look back and wonder
how different our life would be if…
Choices and chances,
often it comes to just that. Dwelling on
what might have been, can separate us from what is. There was a time I was forced to make many
important choices. I am certain that
obligation comes to everyone sooner or later.
As I consider that time and all the difficult decisions I made, I know
that not all my choices were the best, and that troubles me. Times it troubles me a great deal. But I have come, at last, to an
understanding. I know I made the best
choice I could have at the moment. I did
not know the chance or the final value.
I used the information I had, ground it up, put it together, sweat and
worried, but in the end I chose! It was up to me and no other. And during that time I never chose for my
personal benefit. I took the chance…and
educated chance, but I took it. If I
knew then what I know – NOW – likely
I would have, at times, chosen differently.
But that is exactly the point, I
didn’t know!
Life is like that, isn’t
it? Life is a learning experience. It’s about taking a chance each time we make
an important choice. But life must be
more than dwelling on the past, more than wondering what if. For the space we occupy and those we share
that space with, are an accumulation of actions we have taken. Our life is shaped by those actions – those
choices – the good ones as well as those we now consider foolish. In a way our choices have made us, and in my
case “I’m OK with that”. Rather than
dwell on what if -- I focus on WHAT IS,
and find myself grateful for the world, for life, and for my place in it. Yes, choices come with a chance, but what a
wonderful opportunity to build – WHAT
IS!
(541 Words)
No comments:
Post a Comment