Secret Project number twenty-six

Hey Internet, it's Thursday.

This week's project comes from Chicago, from a girl I've known since we played tee ball together in the second grade. That was in 1992 my friends! Kirsten is a wonderfully thoughtful friend, and I had no idea back in second grade (or third, or sixth, or eleventh) that we'd be friends for life. Together, Kirsten and I have floated many rivers, swam in the Adriatic, hiked and explored, had sleepovers, picnics, adventures, cries, cats, pies, cupcakes and laughs together.

Kirsten is also quite handy in the garden, and she made me two cute coasters for my birthday this year, which I posted about here. This project isn't exactly a how-to or an art project, which is exactly why this project is so great. The Secret Project isn't really about following all the rules,  it is about sharing, so don't worry all you potential secret project makers, just share, don't worry about following my rules, or getting it right, because its just about learning from each other. Go make!

No more chatter though, here it is, Secret Project number twenty-six.


I woke up the other day and began thinking about decisions. Currently, I have the luxury of deciding whether I want to get out of bed immediately or roll over, stuff the pillow between my knees, and get really comfortable again, as unemployment allows for that. (Well, only two more weeks of this until my new job starts.) But even with this job status, decisions still abound. I thought to myself, “This could be a Secret Project subject. I often find myself thinking about decisions and the decision-making process." (And apparently, what I could do for a Secret Project.) So, here it is. A Secret Project on decisions. "Maybe I could do a Secret Project on decisions..." I was to decide.

It’s kind of crazy how many decisions we are all confronted with every day. Some are easy, some difficult. Some have lasting consequences, others immediately resolve. Sometimes we know what the consequences will be. Other times, the decisions we make--small or big-- could result in things we had no idea would happen. For a second, it makes me think that the meaning of life can be boiled down to two words- our decisions.

I thought that every time I caught myself thinking about decisions, I took a picture of what was to my front, to my right, left, and what was behind me. So I guess I didn’t really make anything for this Secret Project- just a small photo collection and some thoughts written down on paper and the computer. A good exercise anyone can do.

   Get up now?
            What to eat for breakfast?
                This shirt or that shirt?
                    When to do my laundry?

           

                                          Apply for this job or for that job?
                                Live here or there?
                            Will this or will that make me happy?
                        Do this or do that?

At this point, questions like this can keep building and building, and suddenly I see a whole lifetime of options and paths set out before me. Then I remember there’s no need to stress out—just do what you want and what you feel will make you happy. But as we may all know, knowing this isn’t always easy- there could be many options that we think would make us happy, and we can also consider the other people in our lives.  This makes me think about the relationship between our personalities and our decisions, both in the way we make decisions (fast, slow, etc.) and in the decisions that we make. It seems like sometimes our personalities affect our decisions, but also that our decisions could eventually affect our personalities.

So, I don’t know if decisions are really that interesting…but maybe they are. Maybe some are, and some aren’t.  Maybe it all comes down to what we all find the most satisfaction in. And people can be so different (though ultimately I think we are all quite similar), yet we’re faced with many of the same exact decisions. It seems like one reason for such varied outcomes of people is due to the varying circumstances in our lives from the time of birth, and from then on the same decisions are customized to fit each of our lives- like a snowball effect almost. Thinking about history and geography in relation to all of our decisions is kind of interesting too. Like, 50 years ago, I wouldn’t have been presented with the decision to have a cell phone. I wonder what decisions we’ll be faced with in 50 more years. Hopefully something like, “To swim in this warm, clean, turquoise water before me? Or drink this delicious smoothie first?” while the world turns in peace and in health.