Uploading the columns I have written over the years into the computer is an interesting adventure, both down memory lane and into my past thought processes. It’s fascinating when I find ones that speak to me now. The following column was written in 2004. I firmly believe the concepts in this column. Though some of my priorities and choices change with the ebb and flow of life, like the choice to go to Nigeria last fall, I am grateful I live in a country where choice truly is the architect of our lives.
Choice, the architect of our lives
Have you ever thought about how each choice we make affects our lives and the lives of those who are around us? Sometimes, the simplest choices have a domino effect on the future.
The choice can be as simple as hopping in a truck to go for a ride with some friends, or as the order of a group of people snowboarding down a hill.
My son, who was third in a group of four going down a mountain, was recently involved in a major snowboarding accident. Because he was third, the last person witnessed the accident and ended up staying with him until the ski patrol showed up.
One change in the order and it would have been someone else dealing with the trauma.
A little over a year ago, he also made the choice to hop into a truck and go for a ride with some friends. That ride turned
into a rollover accident in which one of the people in the truck died.
Both of those incidents have had a far reaching affect on him, his family and those who were involved.
A few months ago, I went to see the third movie in the Martix trilogy, which is another trilogy where one person is the salvation of mankind. I have heard it compared to the story of Jesus Christ.
One thing I like about the trilogy, especially the third movie, is the emphasis on how each choice the characters make affects the outcome.
One of the characters, from whom others seek advice, is called Oracle. She can see what will be, and has the wisdom others seek. She always tells them just what they need to hear.
What she tells them is that they have the power to choose, and that the choices they make affect the fate of the world they all live in.
To me that is the most important message of the movie, that each choice made affects the outcome of a situation, a day, a life. Our choices are the architects of our lives.
We have the choice each day how we want to look at the world, which ultimately affects how the world treats us.
We have the choice each day of what our priorities are, which ultimately affects our relationships, our financial situations and what we get done.
We choose who we love, how we love them, where we live, where we work.
I am accepting the responsibility that my choices are the architect of my life.
There are always things that affect us that are out of our control. The choice is in how we deal with those things. The way I feel is not determined by the world, but how I choose to deal with the world.
I guess we all make the choice to be who we are. I choose to look for the positive in the world. I choose to trust that God will provide for me. I choose to put my family as a priority in my life.
What choices are you making today?
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