Choices, Part 2
In America, we have a huge selection of things to choose among.
When we walk into the grocery story to buy bread, we are faced with an aisle full. Not only are there a dozen or more different brands, but we can select white, wheat, Italian, French, sourdough, oatmeal, seven grain, etc. The bread can come in the form of rolls, buns, round loaves, rectangle loaves, sliced bread, loaves we slice ourselves and on and on.
Want to buy peanut butter for your bread? We have Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan and other national brands, in addition to the store brand. You may opt for the more natural Adams, or shop at a store that has a machine to grind peanuts for you.
What about jelly? Or jam? Or preserves? What flavor do you want? Do you want seeds or not? Do you buy the kind that is only fruit or opt for the less expensive store brand?
This is madness!
My friend Shari, who is an anthropologist, tells me that in Norway, shoppers can choose regular or decaffeinated coffee. Period. One comes in one color bag, and the other in a different color. To many this lack of choice may seem like a strait jacket, but the Norwegians prefer it that way.
Consider this – if we didn’t spend so much time deciding on all manner of really inconsequential things, maybe we would have more time to spend on the really big choices, like life partner, or following our dreams – we might even have the time to sit down, listen to our hearts, and realize what our dreams are. And we might have the energy to do more in the evening than simply veg out in front of the TV.
Let’s put the unimportant in its place and begin to live our lives.
