All we have is this moment, right now, that’s it. The past is gone and will not return and the future will unfold as it likes, not as we want. If we constantly try to recreate the past, we are doomed to failure because it cannot be done, it is a physical impossibility. If we continue to dwell on the future, we are wasting our now, the precious moments, experiences, and feelings that surround us at this moment. This all sounds so simple and logical but I often find myself skipping back and forth from future to past and past to future, stepping right over the now – the only part that I do have any decision making ability over. Ironic.

We choose. We have choice. We have free will. We are not mere puppets in this dance of life. We choose where we go, who we talk to and spend time with, how we feel and how we fill our days. We choose. We choose to be the people who we are, to treat others in certain ways, to be alone or in community. We choose to be happy, sad, lonely, loved, or misunderstood. We choose to be strong and assertive or weak and victims. We choose how we allow others to treat us – with respect and dignity or with contempt. We create our own worlds – plain and simple. We choose to be frightened or brave, to accept or challenge the status quo. To live fully alive in our light or hide behind the walls in the shadows. The answer for me is so clear.