Good, Bad, but never Indifferent

From the moment we open our eyes every morning we start making choices. Most of these choices are quite simple. What will I have for breakfast? What will I wear today? The choices we make are often second nature, habit even. Decisions are life's steering wheel. With every decision we make we customize our life's path, much like those choose your own adventure books I loved so much in grade school. Fortunately we really can choose our own adventure, our fate isn’t predetermined. Not in the United States anyway.

With such power over our lives why should we ever feel indifferent? That question may sound trivial when applied to life’s more simple dilemmas but the same logic applies across the board. I believe in believing in something; having an opinion, a preference, a passion for choice A or B. For me, deciding what to eat everyday is a passionate decision. So is what kind of gas I put in my car, what kind of toothpaste I use, where I buy my groceries, what kind of sheets I put on my bed, who I want to call my president. Perhaps I take it too far at times and over thinking everything can lead to indecision. But I truly believe in believing in something, insignificant or critical.

Somewhere along the way indifference has become commonplace and even fashionable, especially in my generation. "I don’t care" is thrown around more than ever. After all, it's cool not to care. I believe that we all really do care. Believing in something is revealing, but exposing yourself to ridicule comes with the territory. Its all worth it no doubt. Crash Davis knew what he believed. "The soul. The small of a woman's back. The hanging curveball. High fiber. Good scotch. That the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. Opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas eve..." Me? I believe in the full windsor, the 65 Mustang, tube amps, the 30-minute sitcom, the golden rule. I believe in brevity, dark socks, natural selection, the 89' orioles, the traditional Irish wake, minimalism, Picassos bull, two buck chuck, the beauty of slow motion, transcendental meditation, Hemingway’s 5 rules, the Wizard of Oz, Andy Kaufman, and most shades of blue. I believe in everything I do. These choices wont necessarily change the world but they can certainly change yours.

What a gift it is to be able to believe in something, anything. Its fitting that that very gift was given by those whom so strongly believed in something. I plan to exploit my power to choose to the fullest. At least then I can say that my life is what I made it, I held the steering wheel.