Contentment is for Cows, Chapter 5, Scene 7

Dear Readers, Last Sunday’s post did not transmit to the email subscribers.  Valiant efforts on my part could not fix the problem, it was beyond my meagre expertise.  I apologize for the belatedness, here is the post;

The word decide is derived from the Latin word, ‘caedere” meaning to ‘cut’ or to ‘kill’ as in ‘homocide’.  To decide one thing over another means literally that you are killing off the other option.  It will no longer exist.

All of us face multiple decisions throughout our days, careers, and lifetimes.  Some decisions are big ones and will have long lasting repercussions.  You know those decisions;  Which school?  Which career?  Which mate?  Which job?  Should I stay or should I go?

Decision making is often an effortful process involving strategic analysis, flow charts, and endless assumptions.  “If I decide this, then that will happen.”  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Bottom line, no amount of analysis will determine the future outcome of any decision.

Choice, as a word, is derived from the old English word ‘cyre’ meaning ‘choice, free will’. Prior to that, the word came from ‘chois’ — the action of selecting, or ‘power of choice’.  Choice therefore implies something completely different from a ‘decision’.  

A decision ‘kills’ the alternative options.  Choice leaves the other possibilities open.  Choosing implies empowerment, conscious selection, and an abundance of possibility.  Nothing has to ‘die’ when you make a choice.  Making a choice can be as simple as ‘it feels right’.        

Endless outcomes will present themselves regardless of how you arrive at your selection.  So you might as well choose what you want and go with it.

The next time you are faced with a couple of options, either tough life changing choices, or a choice between the pasta or the salad, — don’t ‘decide’.  Choose instead.

By the way, Contentment is for Cows is a great choice; the latest scene in our comic series has been uploaded.  click on the link and then hit the yellow “the Latest” button.  

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Enjoy.