Friday, January 23, 2009

Choice by Lisa Jenkins

Beliefs are, by nature, absolute and, as such, very few are manifest in my life. There are more fingers on my hands than things I believe. I suppose I fear binding myself to restrictive codes that will neither accommodate for the needs of others nor recognize the value in diversity. And yet I cannot sail through this sea of people and leave it better, in my wake, without some bearings by which to navigate.

My inner compass, momentarily jarred by waves of conflict or distress, most always rights itself before those around me suffer too much damage. Given time, I rally against the cross-winds of emotion to choose a response that runs contrary to my own selfish, human reactions.

In the midst of anger and hurt, I can hold tightly to the anchor of placed blame though I believe I cannot hope to be forgiven for all the hurt I have caused, if I am unwilling to extend that forgiveness to others. And so I choose to forgive.

In the depths of misery, I can drown in despair though I believe that to deny hope is to disallow the dream of improved circumstances for myself and others. And so I choose to hope.

When confronted by another’s seemingly unfathomable choice, I can ridicule their morals and customs though I believe that we all face choices with less than palatable options. And so I choose to empathize.

Awash in prejudice, I can foster the acceptance of ignorance though I believe that knowledge can ease the fears born of the unknown, and will yield tolerance. And so I choose to learn.

Faced with hate, I can forever abandon the author of each callous deed though I believe that I can love someone in spite of their flaws, and without agreeing with their actions; for this is how I am accepted. And so I choose to love.

Running under the colors of religion, I can condemn others for not adhering to the tenets of fallible men though I believe that it is better to have a relationship with God than to be religious. And so I choose relationship.

Love, forgiveness, hope, empathy, knowledge, relationship, tolerance, and empathy serve as the stars by which I chart my course. Should I run aground in selfishness, I will endeavor to take a new tack. And choose better.

3 comments:

  1. You have a really strong thesis statement. In your first paragraph it gets a little hard to follow

    " I suppose I fear binding myself to restrictive codes that will neither accommodate for the needs of others nor recognize the value in diversity. And yet I cannot sail through this sea of people and leave it better, in my wake, without some bearings by which to navigate. "

    Your use of neither and nor isn't necessarily a double negative grammatically, but you might want to consider revising it because it gets to be a bit of a mouthful.


    I really like your writing pattern and how you conclude every paragraph. I am impressed and keep up the good work :)

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  2. Wow Lisa, I like your blog. I'm terrible at English so I can't be much help in rating it though. So how about I say that... the only thing that I can see and it might not even be a real problem, but the last sentence "And choose better." I think that's a fragment, if its not my bad.

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  3. Darrin - It is a fragment, but I claim poetic license :-) Let's see if I can get away with it!

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