B-C-D

Its been a while since I have put pen on paper (e-ink) , partly due to the fact that I was busy searching and adjusting to the new state of equilibrium and partly because it was my choice to do so. Choices, I have realized is all that there is to life. To give a very technical analogy, choices are like an Turing's Algorithm. The next state purely depends upon the previous state. The same choice, made at different times in different circumstances, lead to different results. Sometimes the resultant state is the state in which you had originally intended. Sometimes, it is a different one because even after all the variables you analysed, the outcome was not something you could control.

However, the irony of life is that people think if the choice is the same, the result should be the expected one, no matter what.

Take, for example, the choices I made over the last several months. Some I cherish, some I regret, some I ponder and some I wish I had made. Choices in friendships, work, health, family, emotions, words, actions. Every choice let to a state and every state led to another set of choices.

Choice to work in an MNC didn't pan out very well, choice of friends did, choice of city was not in my control and choices made in interest of health were a mixed bag. A choice is like a drop that creates ripples, you know where it started, but you don't know where it will end, or how it will end. Choices affect us on different planes of existence, be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual.

And thus, happiness and sadness is also a matter of choice.  In fact, a greater control can be exercised over the mental state. It may not be in your control if you are short , or tall, or fair or dark or dumb or intelligent, but it is your choice to be happy the way you are.

We are our choices, no doubt in that; but are we able to live with our choices? Some people cannot. There lies a serious pitfall. There is a saying "the hind sight is always 20/20", but one does not always have the courage/mental fortitude to live with the choices. When I say live with the choices, I mean that one can accept the choice made in good faith, learn from it, and be able to make more choices without the previous ones haunting him.

To apply this in real life, it means that one should not hang onto the remnants of decisions made in the past, nor be afraid to make decision in the present. And which every decision you make, no matter what the outcome, the mental state may fluctuate for a while before it comes back to equilibrium, but it should come back to equilibrium. An equilibrium where you are at peace with your decision, with the result and at ease in making the next choice as well.

This is where the categories of people are defined
1) Those who are afraid to make decisions
2) Those who make decisions and regret it
3) Those who make decisions and accept it

People in the 1st category are the ones who live a petrified life. They may or may not be in an ideal state of being, but they are afraid to challenge, choose and change as they fear that the new state would be worse than the existing one.

People in the 2nd category are the ones who are unable to live with the consequences of their actions. They are happy when their choices are in their favour, but they take it hard if the choice goes against them and lose the confidence in making more choices. Eventually, they deteriorate and fall into the 1st category of people.

People in the 3rd category are the ones who have achieved a certain fortitude in handling the consequences of their choices. They take the results head-on , be it favourable or adverse and learn to live with it, and continue to make more choices.

This ability to adapt, accept and appreciate changes makes their life more fulfilling, flourishing and flavourful.

I wont say I am a perfect fit in any of the 3 categories, but have semblance of each one of them. I hope I achieve the 3rd state of being, but that again, as I said, is my choice.