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There are moments in everyone's life, moments where choices must be made, moments that will define you, shape you, and change you.

The first trick is seeing those moments for what they are, and taking advantage of the opportunity they present.

The second trick is being able to trace the path of your life back to a point in time where you made a choice, the WRONG choice.

The third trick is being able to project forward, to see where your choices will take you in life.

Choice, it's a simple word, but one that causes so many complex things to happen. Robbery, murder, war, drug use, abuse, the man or woman you marry, the man or woman you sleep with, the name of your child, what you are going to eat, what movie you're going to watch, what game you're going to play, what job you have, what institution of higher learning you attend, these are all choices.

It is, however, difficult to know sometimes WHAT to choose, and even harder at times to MAKE a choice. And why that is, is fairly easy to explain, but often hard to understand. Inside, we know right from wrong, we know good choices from bad, but we DON'T ALWAYS know that we know this. You see, our choices are made, based, on the world we live in, the world around us, what we learn, who we see, who we speak to, what music we listen to, and what books we read. In reality, no choice is a simple one, because all choices involve so much more than just choosing. Most choices simply happen so fast that you don't even realize you've made a choice.

Lets go back to what I call "the second trick". My example for tracing your life back and finding the choice that wrecked everything is this: My back and pelvis are damaged, they cannot be repaired, this happened as a result of an injury suffered while I was enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1994, I joined the Navy because I realized I needed a regimented lifestyle, an understanding I reaching because I stole my dad's car, and wrecked it in 1993. I made a CHOICE, one that I could have never known would result 11 years later in my being disabled.

This leads us to the "third trick", projecting forward and understanding what the consequences of your actions could be. You do this be being brutally honest with yourself, by understanding the mistakes you've made, by learning from them, by REMEMBERING what happened to you when you made similar choices before. This lays out in your mind the various paths you could take, based on the choice or choices you make, it enables you to make the best choice you can.

The "first trick", seeing these moments of choice, these "crossroads", if you will, is in reality the most difficult. It requires you to be very aware of who you are, where you've come from, and where you want to go. You must be able to identify that moment as a crossroads, you have to know that this choice can, and will, change your life dramatically, and change others as well. For my example, I will use Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He made a CHOICE to speak out, to put himself at the front of the civil rights movement. He made a CHOICE to put himself, and those he loved, in danger, everyday. He made a CHOICE to continue doing this, because he knew that he could make a difference for the entire world, and he has. Dr. King's choice was COURAGE, and he gave his life for his choice. And in doing so, Dr. King changed the world.

The courage gained from conviction is a powerful thing.

I myself am at a crossroads now, I know that the choices I make during this time will forever alter my life, and the lives of those around me. I can trace my life back to times like this, and see where I went wrong before, so that I do not repeat the same mistakes, and I can project forward, based on my own history, and see where those choices will take me.

How do I know this? The answer to that is in everything I write, everything I write is a part of who I am, and also a glimpse of who I will become.

I have COURAGE, and CONVICTION, that as long as I am HONEST with myself, I will make the right CHOICE.

You will not always be granted a "good" choice, there are many times when you will have to choose the best of bad choices, and there will NEVER be a time when you have no choice. You always have one, even if you don't like what it is. Myself, in 1994 and 1995, I was faced with the choice to kill or to not kill. I chose to kill, because it kept me and my friends alive, and although that choice granted me life, it was not a good choice, it was simply the best of a great many bad ones. I wanted to live, and so I chose. It was a bad choice, but it was the RIGHT choice.

"Choice", such a little thing, a little thing that has shaped the destiny of our world, and will continue to do so until it is gone.

Think about the choices you make, and always remember, your choices affect everyone around you, not just you.

jlp January 19, 2009