Life begins with a finite period of temporal existence baked into the cake. Somewhere between the innocence of our youth and the reality that balancing needs with wants is a tricky business, lies a narrowly defined period where any choice made can have a disproportionate (positive or negative effect)—exacerbated at times by the hand of fate, mean as it can be at times—on the overall quality of our lives
Our lives can unfold in ebbs and flows, almost without us even noticing the passing years, until confronted with a more stark reality that emerges from our often foggy existence presenting a more difficult choice; one that has been incubating in our sub-conscious, feeding on the most minute of outcomes correlated with a seemingly endless array of choices, for which we can now barely, if at all, remember being made. It is at this mythical fork in the road that considering choosing a path less traveled—lonely as it may seem—may be fate’s invisible hand guiding you toward living a more purposeful life.
Peers, parents, friends and even enemies may align against your struggle to step into this cause-and-effect maelstrom that descends upon us, often at the most vulnerable of moments. A struggle to avoid the voice in our minds eye, which argues persuasively to abandon this rare opportunity to capture freedom, imbued with the difficulties of its discovery, for the calmer yet stagnate waters of a more ordinary, predictable and thus seemingly stable reality promoted by, supported by many a friend and relative who have only our wellbeing in mind. We must push back against their good, yet mis-aligned, intentions to mitigate what they perceive to be an excessive amount of risk associated with a choice that lies outside the boundaries of a more predictable, and thus seemingly safer life experience. We do not have to emotionally assault them, believing they are the enemies of our desire to live more fully. Their effort in challenging us is necessary if we are to gain an indwelling confidence in how our life must play out.
In reality, life is like a lightening bolt, even though we are duped into believing time is actually on our side. Each and every choice has effects that in totality define the record of our life. When we die, and we all will, our peace of mind at that critical time will be wholly dependent on the quality of a life that was dependent on making the right choice that is, at this very moment, making itself known at the lonely crossroads where we now stand. Choose wisely without hesitation so you may consume the luscious fruit from the well-nurtured tree of life.
For more Creative Marbles posts about the difficulties and rewards in choosing a path: Enjoy Yourself While You Can: The Story of the Little Fir Tree and Peace Comes to the Old Dog Via the School of Hard Knocks
