Every Day is a Fresh Choice

A thought popped into my head today (well, actually a few more than ONE thought). Floating to the top of the thought pile was "Every day is a fresh choice. What will you choose today?" That thought was immediately followed by a desire to decide on a theme for this year's holiday cards. After all, what better to think about when summer is about to kick in, than the snows of winter and the sound of Christmas bells? *sigh* Yeah - not the more common things to think about at this time of the year for most people. 

This particular photo was from an unexpected snow storm 
in an Alaskan summer. I'm SO happy that I won't be seeing 
snow for several months. 

Why think summer when Spring has barely settled in? Mainly because the outdoor pool opens tomorrow and we'll be swimming out there (weather permitting) until Labor Day (that's early September for my non-USA readers). The only times we'll be swimming indoors is if the day is stormy - lightning and the outdoor pool do not mix, so lightning requires a shift to the smaller, indoor pool. I like them both - but my larger swim fins only work well in the longer pool, so I'll be adding those to my swim bag today so that I have them on Tuesday when I'll be swimming outdoors for the first time this year. 

Isn't this an amazing photo of lightning? It was a long 
exposure photo over Johannesburg, South Africa. Stunning, 
isn't it? Mother Nature is amazing and smaller miracles 
happen all around us every single day. 

I have a TON of things to do on this, my "day off", not just thinking about holiday cards and looking at a pile of bills that I have to e-pay today. The end of May and beginning of June are the beginning and ends of so many things in our general society. In the USA, it's the end of the school year for many, and the beginning of summer. For some, it's the end of school and the beginning of the rest of their lives. But whether the kids are graduating to Middle School from Elementary, or graduating from college with a B.A. or an advanced degree, it's a step forward on this path we all call life. 

It's after graduation occurs that reality starts to set in. 
Suddenly life stretches ahead - choices at every 
intersection, and no going back. It can be frightening 
for a lot of people, because most of us, although we 
earned degrees, really didn't jump right into using that 
degree for our future employment choices. 

Life can be what we allow it to be. We all make choices - every day of our lives. Those choices could be as mundane as "What brand of bread do I want today?" to momentous - "I think I want to do X with my life. I need to do Y and Z to attain that goal." It is human nature to set internal goals. I'm quite sure it started with the basics - "It's a nice day - I think I'll go harvesting and see if those plants that were ripening a week or two age are ready to be plucked." Or maybe, "It's a great day for hunting. I'll grab the guys and we'll try for some bush pig." 

There is always choice - good or bad. Sometimes you 
can't evaluate the wisdom of either path of choice until 
you've already chosen it. Sometimes those choices 
will turn out to be poor choices. But we're human. We 
have the ability to choose a different pathway - not 
always easy, but possible nonetheless. Change can still 
happen, even after a choice has been made. 

Those basic goals of food and shelter met, mankind was able to focus on larger goals - things such as career choices, mate choices, living area choices. The bigger things in life. Look back over your choices today as you dive into your tasks and challenges. Is there any single thing you would have done differently? Does that choice bother you, even if it was many years ago and you can't change things now? If so, perhaps it's time to put the past behind you and focus on today and tomorrow instead. The past can be a weight dragging you down. Drop it behind you and fly free! Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap the week up. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.