Why All Choices Are Difficult
I may have unintentionally misled you with my previous stories. I may have possibly led you to believe that I went all out and jumped immediately from Point A to Point B, without anything in between. While I may have wanted to do just that, that’s not exactly how it happened so please allow me to set the record straight.
Most of us have more than likely concluded by this point that the journey of life is often never completely linear. It often contains twists and turns that can really make you feel as if you’ve somehow gone rogue and completely off of the path. Your journey may also reveal things that you may even find downright shocking, as was the case with my own. While traveling along my own journey for instance, I found myself at an intersection and at that intersection, was a stop sign. Yep. Picture a good, old-fashioned stop sign. I did what any good law abiding citizen might do in this situation. I stopped.
I was at an intersection and found that I could choose to go east or I could choose to go west. I assumed that one direction led me down the path of continued misery while the other led me to pure bliss.
Seems as if the choice would be obvious, doesn’t it? It wasn’t and in fact, it was actually quite the challenge. I began to think about what it was that I really wanted. I knew I wanted for something to change in my life yet I had also grown comfortable exactly where I was. Make no mistake about it. My current situation was not at all what I wanted but there were no surprises hidden around the corner. I knew exactly what to expect.
On the flip side, I also knew that I needed to leave the cubicle drudgery once and for all. A side note here is that leaving wasn’t an option just yet, much to my chagrin. The company had paid to move me across the country so I owed them a few more months of my time. The choice I had to make was to live those last few months stranded in my misery or, to be happy.
I again glanced at each path, hoping for some kind of a sign; a sign to tell me which I should take when suddenly, both directions became illuminated in the most beautiful light. It was as if a heavenly spotlight offered to light my way despite my chosen direction. I somehow realized that both directions were beckoning me to take a closer look and to perhaps take those first steps.
It suddenly became glaringly obvious to me that both paths were the right path because you see, there is no one path of misery and there is no one path of happiness. Either path could lead me to either one of those experiences. The choice wasn’t in whether I should go east or west. The choice was whether or not I chose to remain miserable or happy. The direction I traveled wasn’t going to decide that for me. It was all up to me.
It suddenly hit me that I had been seeking an external source to help me make those changes in my life, something outside of myself in hopes that it would help me to find that true happiness. Then, if I began to experience something other than happiness, I would have that external source to blame and why not? It certainly sounded good at the time.
I didn’t need that external source and neither do you. Our circumstances at any given moment can most definitely bring us misery if we choose that misery or, those circumstances can bring us happiness, joy, peace, or any other positive feeling if we choose those things.
I’m not going to tell you that it’s always easy because it’s not. In fact, sometimes it’s the most difficult thing you will need to do or to face. Sometimes you may feel as if you are struggling for air or as if the Universe has somehow completely abandoned you. I completely get that because I too have been there. It doesn’t have to feel that way. You don’t have to feel as if you somehow chose the wrong direction for in reality, there is no wrong direction. There are only different paths leading to the same destination.
Find my journey interesting or entertaining? Please share with a friend and sign up for my email list! Download my free gift as a thank you! It’s always good to know that we’re not alone in this beautiful journey of life.
