InnerSelf.com

(Editor's Note: While this article was written in 2004, it is still pertinent now.)

Every day we make choices. Some seem simple, some seem complex. Yet we constantly make choices. What will I eat for breakfast? What will I wear today? What will I say to this person? How will I react to this situation?

Some choices we make without even thinking about it, and sometimes we are simply remaking a choice we made a long time ago. Perhaps we have chosen a certain diet, a religion, a political party, a job, city to live... Some of these choices we are happy with, and others we continue simply because we do not take the time to reevaluate our beliefs and needs. We may simply on automatic pilot, letting things go along as they may.

When we are striving to live an empowered life, our every choice is important. Even the color of the clothes we wear for the day can affect us and the people around us. Certainly the attitude we choose to face the day and the people around us has an effect. Every choice we make makes a difference -- sometimes a good one, and sometimes one that leaves a lot to be desired.

Life itself is a choice. In 2000, there were over 29,000 suicides in the USA. Every single day in the USA, 80 people committed suicide. Every day! Eleven of those people who commit suicide are between 15 and 14 years of age. Every year there are over 734,000 attempts at suicide! Life is a choice.

The choice of life is one we make every day whether we realize it or not. But that choice is not always so dramatic as whether or not to hold a gun to one's head, or end it all "right here and now". The choice of life also applies to the things we ingest (whether food, tobacco, drugs, polluted air, toxins, etc.). The choice of life also includes how we treat the planet we live on.

Every action we take either supports life, or not. When we choose to stay in a job that depresses us and not do anything about it, we are not choosing life. When we choose to let the people around us hurt the people we love, we are not choosing life. When we choose to let politicians and their taskmasters make decisions that go against the greater good, we are not choosing life. When we see violence all around us, in schools, in neighborhoods, on TV, in video games, and only shake our heads in despair, we are not choosing life.

We are the only ones who can make a difference -- by each and every choice we make. Whether that choice involves refusing to buy violent toys for your child, or going to town meetings to make your choices heard, or going to vote -- all these are ways we make a difference.

It is easy for us to complain. We do it all the time. But, to live as an empowered being, we must take action. Complaining and then complaining some more does not change the world. To change the world we live in (whether your own house or the planet), we must make choices that support our beliefs and our vision. If we sit back and only complain at how terrible things have gotten, then we are responsible for the situation. This is a harsh comment, but a true one nevertheless.

We need to take a look at all our choices and make sure they support the greater good -- that they support peace, both internally and externally, both individually and world-wide.

Most of us have been raised in a very unempowered way. "Shut up and listen." "Do what you're told." "A child should be seen and not heard." "Toe the line." "Work hard and you'll get your reward when you retire (or when you get to heaven)." We've been told to put up and shut up. However, that attitude only serves those who are seeking to control us and control our world for their own personal purpose.

It is time for us to wake up to the reality of the world around us. This is the world we have created either through our actions or our inactions. It is time for us to stand up and be counted. It is time for us to make a difference. You can do that by joining (or forming) community and global organizations that are choosing to make a difference. If you can't give of your time, then give of your money. If you can't give of your money, then give of your time. Make your actions count.

For those of us living in the United States, this coming Tuesday is an election day. Choose to make a difference. Go vote. Oh, I know, we've all been programmed subliminally to think our vote won't count... but if there are 200,000 of us who think our vote won't count and we still go out to vote, then that's 200,000 votes that will make a difference.

Choose the world you want to live in. Choose the people you want around you to help you create that world. Choose according to you conscience -- according to your higher self -- according to your highest vision for life on earth. We are the ones who can make a difference. Do you want to look back in 20 years and regret what you might have done?

Make your choices now and every single moment of the day. Do not let fear and despair rule you. Let your vision of hope and of a greater possibility for life guide you. Let your dreams drive you. Let your vision of a "heaven on earth" guide you.

If we don't make the choices that are ours to make, others will make those choices for us. Let's take our power back and create the life we want for ourselves, for our children, and for our children's children. It's up to you, it's up to me, it's up to all of us individually and collectively to choose the path we want to walk on, to lead us where we want to be.

RECOMMENDED BOOK:

Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement 
by Kenneth W. Christian.

Whether you're just starting out or have hit a roadblock, this book makes you ponder your unique answers to essential questions: "What do I really respond to? What gives me joy and passion?" Recommended book for anyone who has a dream but whose self-defeating habits have interfered with making it come true.

Info/Order this book.

About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

More articles by Marie T. Russell

 

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