Another Saturday night here in the Lone Star state and I am seated at my desk thinking about mountain climbing and how I feel like some kind of cross between Sir Edmund Hillary and a Sherpa.
One guy got the glory and the other got to carry the crap up the mountainside.
It is not entirely fair to characterize either man as being just shlepper or just an adventurer, but sometimes it is reflective of how we feel and why sometimes we take a “grass is always greener perspective.
There is Truth in Song Lyrics
There is truth in song lyrics which is why it is fun to listen to and quote from them. I often think of Rush and their song Freewill:
“You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that’s clear-
I will choose Free Will.”
Emphasis mine
Sometimes things happen and you can’t let yourself get caught up in questions about whose fault it is or if there is a reason you can point to.
Most of the things that led to the choices I had to make here were things outside of my control. I won’t lie and say I didn’t try to analyze and understand so that I could prevent it from happening again because I did.
I could create an infographic or write a report that tied it up in a neat little package but it wouldn’t change the fundamentals which demonstrate how many things were outside of my control.
Truth is it made me feel better for about ten minutes to see how I did the best I could and then I was over it because easy choices led to hard decisions.
What Does That Mean?
What it means is when I analyzed the situation I came up with three choices none of which I liked much, but it didn’t change the need to choose and move.
My children haven’t been particularly enamored of several of these but my job as their father requires a willingness to do things because they have to be done and not because they are fun.
When I took a harder look at things the easy choice became a hard decision.
It was logical, rational and smart but tough because it turned things upside down and since it didn’t provide a picture of what would come afterwards I couldn’t show them how it would make life better.
The Magic 8 Ball didn’t help either, so I resorted to the “I promise it will work out mode and gave them a hug.”
I do believe it to be so, but it is not necessarily easier for me because of that.
Time Will Tell
Time will tell whether these moves leave me playing Tenzing or Hillary. Perhaps at a later date we can have a philosophical discussion about the benefits of being Tenzing, because there are many, but for now we’ll set that aside.
In the interim Raiders of The Lost Ark is playing and I have to go watch because Indiana Jones is still someone I want to be when I grow up.
What about you?
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