What Did You Have for Dinner?

We spend our lives trying to develop into who we are going to be – who we want to be, even if we're unaware of that direction when we are thrust into this world. Unbeknownst to each and every one of us, we are up against a world that will try to defy us the opportunity of development in the direction fo desire, and thusly, spend our lives reacting to the variables that step into our path.

These variables can be anything – and they will likely be everything. Standing idly prevents the experiences necessary to gain insight into how to better ourselves for the future and the experiences will ultimately change our perspectives of what we want by drastic margins.

More often than not, the desires we have set for ourselves will also directly distract us from who we want to be. A prime example of this is a person who decides it is a wiser decision to get drunk as opposed to facing a problem in their life. For most, drinking will provide a far more immediate satisfaction – and perhaps facing the problem will never provide satisfaction in any other means than just no longer having that weigh on the individual.

As humans, we also always have problems that need to be solved. Whether it be a simple problem such as what to eat for dinner or something far more life altering like whether or not to put one's self into financial debt for the sake of making a loved one happier.

Every choice an individual makes alters their life and their future desires. Choosing to eat the same meal every day, for example, would make other choices take a higher priority. I once read that Einstein wore the same outfit every day so he never had to spend his time thinking about what he was going to wear. Some people, however, enjoy thinking about the little choices in life – thinking out what to make for dinner, to go back to that, fills some people with pride and enjoyment.

How, though, can one deal with choices they've made that end up blocking every desire they have for themselves? How does one live with a choice that forces them into sacrificing the things they were working so hard towards?

The perplexing thing about being human is how we can rationalize our emotions, complicating everything we do. One person can work a menial job their entire life and be satisfied while another can become rich doing something that doesn't bring their life meaning, and end in suicide. Hell, for that matter, their life can be full of meaning and still end in suicide.

Once one becomes aware of this, the weight of the consequences can become almost paralyzing. Of course, philosophers have lived this life throughout the history of humanity and, for the most part, told the tales of their meditative conclusions. But, really, was that the right choice?

And this concludes the random thought of the day. What did you have for dinner?

-Dustin S. Stover

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