Facing Choices

Choices! Choices are wonderful, we have options, we have solutions! But many of us hit by the first tsunami of federal devastation are now finding ourselves wrangling with choices which, by their nature, involve tradeoffs, close doors, and leave some paths unexplored.

We first faced loss, grief, and perhaps hopelessness. We supported each other, gradually began to find our way and even occasionally feel immersed in a world of possibility. We could move! We could make a leadership jump! We could try something completely different! 

Fear is often at our heels. What if we don’t find anything? What if this takes too long? What if everyone gets a job and I’m the only one still looking? These fears are real and lurk in the depths of our psyche–or on some days, they take over and run ramshackle over our hope and focus.

In this context, we have choices. Do you take a consultancy to make sure you have income and something to account for this time? Do you take that big job (if they offer it) and lose the family time you cherish now? Do you make commitments based on your current situation, but risk not being able to follow through if you find something to fully meet your financial needs? You may even feel guilty for having options! 

On our best days, we can find peace and listen to what we really want and need. We can step back and find new solutions. We can hear what our inner voice is telling us and make peace with the tradeoffs. 

We can know that making a choice now is not a forever choice. If we have learned anything this year, it is that we are poor predictors of the future. We make our choice in our context of this time, and we let go and let the other options float–perhaps away, or perhaps float but are in reach for our next season of change. We know that we do not know what is best, or what is right. 

We can trust ourselves to make a good, aligned choice for who we are and what we know today. We can stay open to what each new day and new change brings and carry all that we have learned forward. We can find growth where we are and commit to each choice fully in the moment, knowing fully that we can only trust in ourselves and in the present moment.