Sliding Doors
Conscious control of our present moment can be a powerful mechanism for growth within our lives. By being present within each moment of your day, you begin to become aware of the impactfulness of each decision chosen. Each decision, and subsequently each stone left unturned, becomes part and parcel of the manifestations of our lives. This is perhaps best illustrated with the ‘sliding doors’ theory behind decision making, which examines the long term path we may encounter when making the simplest of choices within our lives. By asking the girl at the grocery store out, we must understand that even though we may not recognize it within the moment, we may be opening ourselves up to a lifetime relationship. By not asking her out, and simply going about our day, we close that door, and begin down a different path within our lives. Of course this is not the thought pattern we examine when in the moment, but ultimately we must realize the bevy of possibility when making choices within our lives. This is why being conscious within our actions, being present within each moment begins to show its true importance.
When we begin to unpack all the moment by moment choices we make on a daily basis, it starts to become obvious that there are some choices that are inevitably harder than others. There are choices that have small cumulative effects, like brushing our teeth or excercising on a daily basis, but there are also larger choices that become impactful as we grow. These decisions, like changing jobs, ending partnerships, and moving all illustrate the larger picture of what I’m getting at here. These large scale decisions can have immediate impacts upon our lives, and may shift the course of our beings to completely alternate timelines. We can all think of these significant changes within our lives, events that have completely altered the courses of our lives. It is perhaps just as important, if not more important, to be completely conscious of the potential impact of these decisions when making them. We must make these choices with great intention, with the knowledge that they will potentially uproot the current courses of our lives. These decisions must be made skillfully, and with great awareness of the possible impacts they may purvey into our lives.
We often become very comfortable with our surroundings, taking their effects upon our lives for granted. It is only when we make significant changes to these base surroundings in our lives, do we really see the impact of the previous choices within our lives. This effect is most notably seen when making the most significant decisions within our lives. The small choices take time to accumulate, as forgetting to brush your teeth one night will likely not result in catastrophic long term impact. Choosing to not brush your teeth for an entire year however, will most definitely have some long term detrimental effects. By making significant changes to our lives through conscious decision making, we begin to see that these impacts can be felt with immediacy. By moving to a different state or country, we will often realize quickly that our lifestyles become precipitously different. The change can be felt immediately, and the ripple through our personal lives and consciousness is marked, and easy to delineate. Remain present within your life, making conscious intentional decisions, and the path towards your greatest authenticity will pave itself.
