Choice is one of those unique attributes of human existence that can sometimes feel like both a blessing and a curse.

It is a blessing because choice gives us the power to decide how we move our lives forward at any given point; it is a curse because the weight of decision making can bring anxiety and regret. Many of the routine choices we make may not require much consideration, but sometimes the stakes can be high.

Standing in your current reality

Only by fully accepting our current reality, no matter how difficult and painful it may seem, can we can allow ourselves to wholeheartedly move forward. It is not about resigning to our fate, but rather about acknowledging what is, and recognising the multitude of factors involved in its creation.

Fully embracing our current reality without judgement is a powerful enabler for making difficult decisions. When we accept who and where we are in our lives at a particular point, we allow ourselves to respectfully let go of the past and step forward. Often, the process of deeply understanding where we are and how we got there can lead to previously unseen choices and paths naturally emerging.

The funny thing is that the decision to fully acknowledge our current reality is in itself a choice! A choice that enables choice. A choice we have to make if we want to create decisions that are borne out of a deep understanding of ourselves and our environments.

Surfing the wave

The inescapable question all this leads to is how much choice do we really have? Are we actually choosing for ourselves or are these choices just predestined products of our environments. It seems to me that both are true.

We are undoubtedly conditioned in certain ways through our upbringing and our experiences, yet it is undeniable that we also have the power to break from the past and to change. We are at the same time the masters of our own destinies as we are the servants of fate — a bit like a surfer on a wave!

By choosing to open our hearts and minds to our current reality and by daring to acknowledge who we are, we can all surf the wave in a way that allows us to wholeheartedly engage in the world.