Monday: Choice
“Purpose and Choice”
by Dr. Larry Morris
We don't do everything; we can't be everything. We have to choose who we want to be and what we want to do in this life. That means that there are a great many things we won't be able to be and to do. To define our purpose in life means that we have to specialize. They say that since about the 15th century, it has been impossible to know everything in terms of human information because there is just too much for any one human being to know. So too with our lives; there's just too much to know and too much to be and too much to do; so we need to make choices based on values determined by how we have defined our purpose in this life. Our life becomes very simple and straightforward once we clarify our purpose and decide on the way in which we will achieve it.
“SPECTRUM OF CONSCIOUSNESS”
BY DR. LARRY MORRIS
Our life is filled with choice. Out of all the infinity of possibilities, we have to select a very finite number of things to do and to be in this life. We even have to choose what we want to be aware of in relationship to the vast field of possible perceptions. A person with a remote control and cable, satellite or streaming TV has hundreds of programs from which to choose. He may go through the whole spectrum of channels and offerings, many of them very different from each other, before choosing one that suits his temperament, his needs, even his convictions. Sometimes in life we try all sorts of experiences until we find the areas of life that are most congenial, suitable and compatible for us. And this is an evolving process. What was right for us at, say, 19 may not be appropriate for us now. The kinds of interests we had, the people we related to may have altered drastically. Like reading or watching television, our life situation alters significantly as we grow and unfold. Since we are unfolding right now in our own way and at our own pace, you can relax as you sort through your options now.
“BOTH/AND THINKING”
BY DR. LARRY MORRIS
Two old friends met after a long separation. One friend asked the other, "Did you ever marry that woman you were going with, or are you still doing your on cooking, cleaning and ironing?” His friend answered, “Yes.” Sometimes in our life, we get locked into either/or thinking when the answer to our situation may be both/and. We may be limiting our possibilities by being too one-sided, narrow or rigid in our thinking. We’ve all, at times, felt hemmed in by thinking that the only choice we have is between two equally unacceptable alternatives. We've all thought or felt, If don't so something, things will stay the same which is intolerable; but if I act, the change will be so drastic, that it is too scary to contemplate. When we think that we are limited to one choice, either this or that, we need to open our mind to the possibilities of both/and in our situation.
“Choosing”
by Dr. Larry Morris
A sage once asked a visitor, "What do you want?" If we are not clear about our goal or purpose in life, it is difficult to establish priorities. If we don't know where we are going, we will probably get there. To paraphrase the great Hebrew prophet Elijah, "How long will we wobble between two opinions?" In Zen they say, "Stand, walk or sit, but don't wobble." At some point, we need to decide to be something or someone in this life. As Hamlet says, “To be or not to be, that is the question." That is the question for each of us. If we are going to be something, are we putting our whole being into being it or are we holding back, wishing for alternatives, secretly hoping that something will happen so that we don't have to completely be whatever we have chosen. As we experience the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this is a good time to rededicate and recommit ourselves to being all that we can be in this life.