Choices

So many things we all want to get done within a lifetime. Often times at a younger age the assumption is "I have plenty of time to do that," or "I'll get around to it later once the timing is right." Then later arrives sooner than expected leaving us wondering where exactly has all that time gone. Obviously there's no blueprint or guide on how to live the perfect life. None of us really have the right answers.

That's part of the beauty of it. In a way or from a certain point of view life can be looked at as series of multiple choice questions. With each answer you choose leading to just another choice to be made. Although, it's never too late to make a different choice or venture down an unknown path. Being in control of what we do with all of our time turns out to be a pretty big responsibility quite frankly. A lot of us with too much free time on our hands tend to make choices that probably aren't the most beneficial. We scroll instead of study or hesitate instead of leap. We wait for permission that was never ours to ask for in the first place. And in doing so, we quietly trade intention for impulse.

Time is funny like that. It doesn't shout when it's slipping away or it won't tap you on the shoulder to remind you that today could have been the day you started. Instead it just moves, steady, unbothered, and indifferent to excuses. Then all of sudden one morning you wake up and realize the "someday" you kept promising yourself has been collecting dust. But here's the truth you don't learn when you're younger: life isn't asking for perfection. It's just asking for participation.

For you to choose even if what you end up choosing is wrong. To just begin, even if you're starting unsure. To give it a try even if you start to tremble while doing it. Because every decision, good or bad, is movement and movement is life refusing to stay stagnant. There will be seasons where you miscalculate. Where you give your energy to people who only borrow it. Where you invest your hours into dreams that quietly dissolve. Even then, you're not behind but just learning the terrain. Gathering the type of wisdom that can't be Googled or gifted.

The beautiful thing about choice is that it renews itself daily. Every sunrise is another question and another opportunity to circle a different answer. You can wake up and decide to forgive or commit, decide to walk away. Decide to finally start writing the book, building the brand, making the call or booking the flight. You can decide that the rest of your life will not be lived on autopilot. 

We don't control how long we're here. We also can't control every obstacle or heartbreak or detour. But we do control the posture we take toward it all. We can control whether we shrink or expand. Whether we complain about the clock or make something meaningful before it strikes again. Maybe the real responsibility isn't just managing our time. Maybe it's honoring it.

Because one day "later" will stop arriving. One day the choices will run out and when that moment comes, the only thing that will matter is whether you showed up fully while you had the chance. So choose body. Choose often. Choose with the understanding that nothing is guaranteed but this moment right now. After all, the most powerful answer you can give to life's endless questions is simple: I was here and I chose to live.

Author: Shai Cam