June 25

  

Today's Quotation:

The need to make wise choices encompasses every area of our lives.  Since we have time for only a limited amount of stuff, we need to choose wisely what stuff we're going to allow to take up that time.  Since we have only a limited amount of time to spend with friends or to engage in leisure activities, we need to choose our friends and our activities wisely.

Elaine St. James

Today's Meditation:

I know some people who take whatever comes along in the "friends and activities" category.  They don't practice discernment at all-- they never sit down and ask "is this what's best for me?"  They tend to live without being aware of their own needs, without being able to see when certain activities or people are harmful to them.  I know many students who go out drinking with friends who constantly convince them to do so, even if they'd rather spend the evening studying for tomorrow's test.  In this case, neither the friends nor the activities have been chosen wisely at all.

Many people spend years doing the same activities, over and over again, long after the newness and true enjoyment have worn off.  Other people can spend years doing the same activities and never feel a sense of diminished enjoyment.  One person would need to choose to find new activities, while the other would be fine doing the same thing forever.

But life is short-- we all know that.  We may get overwhelmed by what's going on in our lives and by the many options available unless we learn to choose wisely and effectively.  When all is said and done, life is about making decisions-- the people we will be tomorrow depend upon the decisions that we make today.  And how do we learn to choose wisely?  We observe the results whenever we make decisions.  Do I feel belittled or depressed when I'm with this person?  Then being with him or her probably isn't the best thing.  Does this activity make me feel better the next day?  Does this person or this activity bring me peace or conflict?

Once we learn to observe and reflect, then we can make decisions that will truly help us in life.

Questions to ponder:

1.  Are your choices of people to be with and things to do based on reflection on the results of previous experience?

2.  What happens to us if we always just go along with whatever's happening or whoever we happen to be with?

3.  Are all people and activities valuable to us as people?

For further thought:

Know how to choose well.  Most of life depends thereon.  It needs good taste and correct judgment, for which neither intellect nor study suffices.

Baltazar Gracian

more thoughts and ideas on choices

   

   

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