Choose Again

A Mother is seen with both hands out in front of her, extending clenched fists, one containing a treasure. Offering them to the expectant gaze of her pudgy, small son, she urges, "Which hand do you choose?" With only a moment's hesitation, the little boy taps the one of his choice, only to find it empty. His eyelids drop and shoulders sag, but only momentarily. For, while hardly missing a beat, his Mother offers, "I'll give you one more chance... choose again!"

Unlike a small boy's choosing between two closed hands, most of life's choices are more complex, involving many options, some unclear, others fearful, and many simply containing pluses and minuses equaling confusion, uncertainty and risk. Some choices lead to dead-ends, to other than we would have hoped for, and sometimes to despair and defeat.

But whatever the situation, there is always that gentle urging and profound opportunity, "Choose again."

We have known times that we purposely chose what, at some level, we knew to be inferior or even made the choice not to choose. We have opted for the road more travelled, the course most easily navigated, the path of least resistance. We have been lazy, indifferent, lethargic, or most often fearful. We have sometimes been drawn to repeat ways that we knew had failed before, blindly hoping for a magically different result this time.

And yet, the gentle offer, "Choose again."