I'm a believer of free will. I think that the events in our lives are actually a series of consequences of the choices we made previously, which in turn would have further effect on our future available choices. It's just like a chain reaction. Of course, the number of choices we have, or the liberty to choose, may vary according to circumstances and at different stages of our lives, yet there is never an instance when we are completely devoid of choices.
If life is indeed the proverbial journey, then we are the ones who choose what paths we wanna take, which routes we're gonna travel, and where we're gonna turn at the junctions. The thing is just that we gotta go through the journey without a map, as we can't really know for sure where we would end up next with every route we have chosen. We can always plan for our journey upfront, but the roads ahead are full of uncertainties and even the most well-planned paths may turn out in vain. Perhaps the only comfort we have is that in the end, even the person with the smoothest journey will still reach the same destination as everyone else.
I can understand if a person in adversity is dejected about the futility of his deliberated choice, but it's wearying to see a person getting all whiny over some setbacks, as if the world has ended and there is no more options in life other than immersing himself in this imaginary sorrow and perpetual self-pity.
Get this: we choose how we wanna live our lives. We can continue sitting in our own shadows of misery, regret the past, demolish all hope for the future, and think of ourselves as the victims of a melodrama of our own creation, Or, we can choose to be strong, take the woes in stride, continue striving on with hope, and promise ourselves that we want nothing but happiness.
The truth is that life is full of choices, big and small. No one could strip us of all our choices; only we can do that to ourselves. The moment we think that we have no other options and choose to give up striving, that's when all our choices in life really cease to exist.
Labels: opinion
