Ever have those what if moments? I know I surely do. It isnt about about second guessing myself. Ive made mistakes and plenty of them. I have my regrets too. I know that at the time I made my decisions I made ones that seemed most reasonable at the moment with the information available. For the most part I am proud of my decisions even if the outcome wasnt always what Id hoped for or fought for. Like anyone, there have been those key moments when critical decisions were made. At times they seemed obvious that such a moment was going to be a turning point but in many cases they werent so obvious; little decisions on the spur of the moment for good or ill with big consequences. Those are the ones that disturb me most, I think. Were they forest for tree decisions or just made in a way in which the direction things turned couldnt have been guessed, hidden eddies altering the course of things? They disturb me because of the huge impact such little choices can make. It is evidence then that even the smallest daily choices must be taken seriously, a understanding that the consequences might be much larger than anticipated. If one were to go to the grocery and select a gallon of milk out of three brands, such a decision would normally have little bearing other than flavor and one dairy getting a few extra pennies over another. These are the little choices with no gloom to be had over the outcome. It is also such little choices of which we need to be most wary. Let us assume for a moment we opted for brand B. On the way home we encountered a young mother with a young child wailing. You happen to overhear the mother try to calm the child and assure her that all would be ok but that there was no milk and no money for milk. As a kind gesture, you give the mother your brand b milk and continue on your way having done a good deed and knowing you could pick up another gallon later. Now lets suppose that the very same brand b milk was tainted but know one yet knew it. The young child soon fell ill and died. Milk brand a and c had no such issues but you had no way of knowing. You also had know way of knowing when you purchased it that you would have encountered the mother and child. In a string of very small choices you had become an inadvertent murderer. Little choices, big effects. I dont know that I have the answer. I do know that the weight of such small choices bothers me and especially about the ones I thought I was making for the good at the time.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 04:00:49 +0000
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