Choice!

rgsrinivasan · Jun 3, 2013

One of my favourite topics! In other words, my own choice too! Right from day 1, this word finds its place till the very end of us and of course even after that. Agreed and accepted and believed too that I am born not of my choice [a few elite individuals may definitely push this away as childish! I know, alas! I am still a child yet!] and will go too, not to my liking, I wonder why this word gains the upperhand among everything else.

And why not? Because, between the first and last moment of life, the rest of it is entirely based upon the choice of ours or the ones who care for us. The infant cries [though involuntarily at times] when hungry / wet or sick or when in foul mood / when it needs its mom. Thats nothing but having a choice and exhibiting it. Isn't it? And because it did, it got what it wanted. Well! Not always, but mostly. Take a boy / girl, a man or a woman / an old person - what makes them to keep moving ahead / bound to a point not able to move beyond? Choice again. "I don't care about your choice, but I want that ice-cream! NOW!", is something that a kid [in particular, a sick one] often exhibits, even when he / she is just out of the hospital. "I like this so much and want to eat it more, knowing so well that I may get sick / indigestion" - an older person who is so fond of fried items may do this.

"I did not get to where I liked to be. At least my kid should!" - a parent decides thus without giving a thought about the child's interest. And of course, you may argue that there are gentle and caring parents, well behaved kids and responsible and mature old people. Yes. I agree. But what made them to be thus? Their choices again. Isn't it? Coming to the question of "Not all are that lucky to get a choice. Some are fated to be bound with such a misery all their lives!". I may only say that they chose to think only that way and had given up [except in rare cases] even before trying otherwise.

Who we are might have been from our ancestors initially. But though our choice and hence way of living, this should definitely change so we earn an identity for ourselves. Aren't each of us unique? Even our thumb impressions and the lines in the retina of our eyes are not the same, and seem to be based on a choice made by someone else. So, instead of gambling, lets try to choose based on what we know and do our best to be whom others choose as their models.

Even if others respect us or not, we need to respect ourselves, and there is no choice other than that. Is it not? And to end with, no matter what happens to us, choosing to leave on our own accord too, should be banned. Gifted that we are to have a lot of choices, lets use them prudently to enhance ourselves, not otherwise.

Choosing to end this snippet now, Friends! Hope you choose to read and respond too!

Who you are while you are born
Will be explained from your ancestry.
Who you were after you are gone
Should be from what your history.

Between the beginning and the end
Your life is a bag of choices. True.
What you choose and how you mend
Yourself will surely shape you.

Know your choices, oh! wise one!
And choose well from the list of them.
However hard the path, you run
To it, instead of being meek or dim!

Luck and His grace comes to help
Only those who choose to fight
Against the odds without a yelp.
So choose not to give up light!

In the end, you will be surprised
About yourself and then realize
That your choice made you rise!
Go ahead for, now you are wiser!

iyerviji · Jun 3, 2013

Yes RGS dear I am the first one who had the choice to read and give fb. A thought provoking post and I dont have words to write. So penning down the quotes. Your poetry is superb as always

Choose happiness by taking life day by day, complaining very little, and being thankful for the little things that mean a lot.
Ritu Ghatourey quotes

I believe that we are who we choose to be. Nobody is going to come and save you. You've got to save yourself. Nobody is going to give you anything you've got to go out and fight for it. Nobody knows what you want except you, and nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it .So don't give up on your dreams.
Ash Sweeney quotes

rgsrinivasan · Jun 3, 2013

iyerviji said: ↑

Yes RGS dear I am the first one who had the choice to read and give fb. A thought provoking post and I dont have words to write. So penning down the quotes. Your poetry is superb as always

Choose happiness by taking life day by day, complaining very little, and being thankful for the little things that mean a lot.
Ritu Ghatourey quotes

I believe that we are who we choose to be. Nobody is going to come and save you. You've got to save yourself. Nobody is going to give you anything you've got to go out and fight for it. Nobody knows what you want except you, and nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it .So don't give up on your dreams.
Ash Sweeney quotes
Click to expand...

Thanks for such a nice and quick feedback Vijima. Happy to receive yours as first.
And lovely quotes too.
-rgs

Viswamitra · Jun 3, 2013

Dear RGS,

It is an extremely elevating snippet you have presented here. I read it couple of times to digest all of them and straight away nominated it especially with the essence of your thought process presented so nicely in the form of verses.

Free will or choice of human beings is a much discussed topic among the sages and several of them have discussed this topic at length. Your understanding of the choices makes me understand how much you have traveled in your path of right living. I am a big believer that we are a divine being and therefore, my Self confidence should be very high. People always misunderstand that self confidence is the ability of their mind. It is true that our discriminative power presents, analyzes and interprets all the choices to us but it is our innermost consciousness that says in a humble voice what is right and what is wrong. That I call as Self and its decision to determine what is right and wrong as Self confidence.

I have said this many times but I will repeat it again here. The Creator does not expect us to worship him but He expects us to lead an ideal and purposeful life that will make us learn the art of right living and elevate us to the next level and eventually realize our Self. Therefore, in my opinion, there are only two choices at the broad level i.e. to pursue our inner Self or to pursue the world (mind). I am not suggesting that we should withdraw from the world and look inside of us. We should be a like a lotus leaf that is in water but does not drown in the water. Life is all about moving from selfishness to selflessness. Even though when we make decisions it looks like it is pursuing the world, if it is done with the best of intention, it is equivalent to pursuing our inner Self.

It is our mind that presents choices for each experiences as I believe each one of the experiences are limited to the instruments such as body, mind and intellect. But at the same time, when these experiences are converted into pleasant experiences with lessons learned from them, it relates well with the inherent qualities of our inner Self. Our inner Self has five qualities that drives this world and they are called Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace), Prema (love) and Ahimsha (non-violence). Our ego, anger, jealousy, hate, etc. are qualities that are peripheral in nature that covers our inherent nature as listed above just like a cloud covering the bright light of the Sun. I feel these five qualities drive the world because if the vitality of any or all of them comes down, they reestablish themselves.

We are a divine being with the ability to make right choices. The instruments such as body, mind and soul are needed to remove the effect of our bad actions. We need to learn to endure the pains we face and not get too excited when we experience the pleasure thus remaining constant with equanimity. We have to make consistent effort to remove our thoughts that are the reasons for our desires and attachments. We need to learn to control our mind and senses. We need to protect and preserve our body, mind and intellect and nurture them well as it is a Shetra (Holy Place) where we (our inner Self) reside. If we make mistakes, we should not delve on it for long and learn our lessons quickly and move on. When we do right action, we need to move on too without expecting the fruits of our actions. As we make this journey, we begin to make nothing but right choices in our life. Once we achieve that level of knowledge, we will know that there are only two choices a) to pursue our inner Self or b) to pursue the world (mind).

Please write more and more of such write ups RGS and I am learning so much from you.

P.S. It is our mind that presents the world to us and it is our mindset that determines the world is a better place to live or a place where there is no scope for peace.

Viswa

racr · Jun 3, 2013

............. .......................:bowdown

Well,what can I say..clean bowled! The choice to 'choose' is one of the uppermost thoughts in my mind too.Reminds me of my post on the same.

When I choose to click on a post which has your name on it,I know I have made the best choice of all(giving myself a pat on the back)! THANK YOU!

arch1209 · Jun 3, 2013

Having the power too choose is such a huge privilege, I think we seldom realize the power of choice - be it choosing what to eat or choosing to vote for someone gives us as individuals so much power. I really enjoyed your wonderful snippet RGS - and I agree with Viswa, that our mind determines how we perceive the world and also how or what we view as a choice and how or what we perceive as mandatory or compulsory.

Don't we think at times that having a choice makes things easier, but for some reason I have always felt that in exams it is the multiple choice questions and answers that are most difficult!

Aspire · Jun 3, 2013

Good one RGS.

I remember reading an article where it mentioned that scientists have discovered that decisions are made by unconscious/subconscious part of brain, 7 seconds before conscious part of brain makes it

Spiritually, this has always made "me" wonder "who is" making this "choice" or is it an illusion of making choice?

shyamala1234 · Jun 3, 2013

Dear rgs,

I had to read this number of times to grasp something. I do not know if I have grasped the essence of what you have written. I would try to present my two cents.

Birth and death....we don't have a choice. The period in between we have many choices how we shape our lives. No need of the big word life. Even from morning to night we take many decisions...mostly small (people like me what to cook, what saree to wear etc etc). How many big decisions we take in life which are turning points? Very few. My perspective is that if we take all the small decisions in a sincere way sticking to truth, without any malice to any one, no vengence on anyone, soft spoken, sympathy and empathy, compassion, love,working hard, doing justice to our job or any thing that we are doing......that is enough for us. Life would be beautiful and meaningful. We have to set an example to our children. They are very very shrewd observers.
So, make the right choices in small things and big choices also would be easy.
I do not know if I have confused you by going in a tangential direction. If so, you can ignore what all I have written.

Syamala

satchitananda · Jun 3, 2013

CHOICE - it is such a complicated word. We would be lost if we did not have it and had only one option. But it is so tough sometimes to choose between a variety and one can choose only one whereas you want about 5 of them, isn't it. What do we do with it, what do we do without it?

Kamla · Jun 4, 2013

Dear RGS,

Congratulations on being nominated to FP by Viswamitra and Racr!!

I also got to read the wonderful acceptance post written by Cheeniya sir in reply to this nomination. After that and after reading some of the replies here, you really don't really need me to add anything more! All has been said and how!

Now that Cheeniyasaar has declared this post as the winner of the month, I wish to tell you that I have always considered your posts as winners month after month! Now that has been clarified, let me add my two cents about your prose and poetry!:-D

I never entertained any doubts about your posts being anything other than thought provoking. Though I became your fan after reading your verses and admired the speed and impromptu delivery of poems by you never mind what the subject was, I am now impressed with the prose that accompanies the poem!

Choice..the most fascinating option given to us. At this stage of my life, I know of many wrong choices I made. But was it really a choice that I had or was it my destiny? Or, is it just convenient for me to blame destiny instead of me for my choices? You know, I'd rather not dwell too long on that!!

But the choice I have to appreciate your writings, I shall make a good use of it! The poem impressed me no end. Just too good. It should be learnt by heart and be quoted when necessary....!

This reminded me of words that appeared on my FB page this morning. I am pasting it here. I think you will appreciate it!

1: If you are born poor, its not your mistake, But if you die poor, its your mistake….! — Bill Gates

2: Born with personality is an accident, But dying in a personality is an achievement..!

3: Your birth may be normal, But your death should be History..!

4: Follow none, But learn from every one..!

5: Practice like a devil, And play like a angel..!

6: Do or Die is an old concept, Do it before die is a new concept..!

7: Like all, trust few..!

Some choices...right?!

L, Kamla