Choice

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.  Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

We all make choices every day.  Most of the time the choices are small.  Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes? Can I let my hair go one more day without a wash?  Yes or no?

There is a tendency to only look at the big choices in our lives.  I am a mother.  I am a nurse.  These are the fork in the road choices.  These choices do define us.

Yet, I can’t help but wonder if it is the small choices that make a difference at the core of who we are.  Maybe the small choices are not a fork in the road as much as a gradual curve.  The result is the same, it changes the direction of our lives they are just not as dramatic, and we don't use our turn signal.

Choosing to take the vitamin.  Going for a walk instead of taking to the couch. Saying something kind instead of saying nothing at all.  These are the small choices that form the curve in the path.

For the big choices we put pen to paper, listing pros and cons.  We solicit the opinions of others.  We Google. Yet the small choices don’t always break the surface of our consciousness.  Maybe we could make the small decisions with more intention?  Would that send our life in a different direction?  I think it might.