Decisions Decisions!

  Having to reflect on career paths at work is a real headache for me. I think that the issue is that I see many ways I fit in some roles and not in others, and vice versa. My mind then makes the mistake of assuming there is one ideal role that does not suffer the disadvantages of the others. This is a mistake that comes from discriminating mind and comparing.  What is important is to distinguish between when a decision seems sound as a result of calm reflection, and when a decision is pursued only for the sake of excitement or novelty.

   I was teaching my student today about "hyperbole" as a  literary technique, and one thing that I mentioned is how exaggeration seems to be an inherent part of the interpretation process. I think this is so because interpretations are not just passive readings of experience; they, rather, contain directives and purposes. Interpretations come with an idea or a plan of action embedded within them. We don't just "think" ideas, but we "do" ideas, and there are times when we need to create the interpretation that will motivate us to do what we feel is correct. But I think this interpretation always leaves something out--perhaps it needs to in order for life to move. Yet it's important to keep in mind that because interpretations bias us toward acting in certain ways, they are always inherently incomplete. There is always something that is not quite captured in the interpretation itself.

   Two ways to combat this is to calm the mind, and to be grateful for what one has. That is: not to rush into anything new just because it seems initially exciting, but to let the mind settle so that all the points can be considered with some clarity. The second is gratitude: counting what one has instead of only seeking for what one doesn't have, which means that no matter what decision we end up making, we will have reasons to be content with it.