Have you ever wondered, "What if I ..."?

Kathryn and I on Somoa.

There are points along our timelines that represent critical moments of decision.  Making one choice over another inevitably causes events to unfold in very different and unique manners.  Outcomes rapidly change throughout our lives as time unfolds and will likely produce results that are drastically different from the way things are today.

Fortunately, such critical moments are few and far between.  What one eats for dinner, the particular shirt worn on any day at random, and either riding your bike or running for exercise, will not likely impact what the rest of your life looks like.  It's those events that take us down a particular path that paves the way to our future.  Who you marry, the job you train for and take, and the degree of risk-taking you commonly employ will produce far-reaching ramifications.

Have you ever wondered, "What would have happened if I had ...?"  I certainly have, and I think back along the time-stream representing my life and am content with my current circumstances.  Yes, things could have been a lot different.  Income, relationships, occupations, health, and socio-economic status could all be vastly affected.  And yet I have to think that I could still be perfectly content in whatever those futures may have looked like.

I look at the above photo I shot about 5 years ago now and think about each person in the photo and the choices they have made and how that has turned out for them.  Kathryn and I (back right) have been both teachers, raised two children, and have been involved in our church.  We got to know the couple next to us on the cruise we were on; he was a retired submariner and she, a nun, who left her calling and married him.  Then there are the three children, inhabitants of the Somonan island we visited, whose choices are limited by poverty and isolation.

Challenge follows each one of us wherever we go and whatever our choices are.  The key is to make the best choice you can in whatever situation you are in and to strive to extract meaning and joy out of what it brings you.  I have to believe that it is less about the choices you make and more about what you make out of the outcomes of making them.  Happiness can't be based on making the right choice; it has to be based on moving forward at the moment regardless of events that unfold.  Otherwise, we would spend our lives regretting our every decision - maybe things would be better if I did this instead of that.

Grasp the moment.  Love those around you and be thankful for all the good that is in your life.  Do your best at whatever it is you undertake.  And look after yourself.  It is these things that will inevitably bring meaning, joy, and happiness into your life, not because you made the wrong decision a long, long time ago.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com