AlphaBytes 2004

There have been a number of opportunities for me to ponder the tremendous power each of us has when it comes to making choices lately. Interestingly enough, the mere fact that I�ve been stopping briefly to reflect on how grateful I should be that I have options has been enough to urge me on to making, most times, what turns out to be a positive decision.

A lot of the time, the act of making choices isn�t something you think about. Jump out of bed immediately or hit the snooze button? Tea, coffee or juice? Black dress pants or that cute, clingy red wraparound skirt? And yes, a lot of the time our final decisions are based on some simple external factor such as how early that damn alarm clock is set to begin with, how caffeinated you want to be or whether or not you�ve dealt with the hairy leg situation. They�re the easy ones.

The next level is where this exercise ceases being mindless and begins to affect those around you. Should I screen my phone calls? Should I tell the nice lady at the Monster Chain Outlet that she gave me too much change? Should I just nod and smile when my best friend pops out of the dressing room wearing an outfit she really shouldn�t be wearing but loves to death? Again, I�m not hurting anyone here. There might be a twinge of guilt when I hear my Mom�s voice asking if I�m there and I still don�t pick up because please, God, I can�t have another conversation about why I haven�t done this and just what exactly was my rationale for not doing that and so on. The Monster Chain Outlet will get along just fine without that extra $2 in my pocket and I�ll bet I can depend on my best friend�s Mom to raise her eyebrow at her daughter and ask if it�s now trendy for late 30-something mothers to be wearing skirts that go up to there��. The onus still isn�t on me, which suits me just fine, thanks.

The final category is one we�ve all had experience with in one way or another: choices having the power to affect many lives or having the potential to affect one or two lives with catastrophic results. This is the one I�ve not gotten a handle on yet.

How do you handle these choices? Do you give them a sober second and third thought? Do you agonize over the pros and cons until you�re bleeding out the eyes? Or do you look at the options, mentally throw a dart and move forward with whatever the fates have apparently deemed the way to go on this particular issue? (I�d be willing to bet the Dart Board Method would result in less occurrences of irritable bowel syndrome and given its random nature, would also probably provide just as many positive outcomes as decisions arrived at through much pacing and gnashing of teeth).

I�ve got some hard choices coming up, and I know it. I�m doing my best Piscean imitation of an ostrich right now, but even I know all good things must end. For better or for worse I must take a stand, and that dart board is beginning to look very attractive.

Posted at 9:30 a.m.