Why so difficult…
That was a frustrated cry from an alien in the Episode 19/Season 3 of the Farscape, a Sci-Fi TV serial.
Oftentimes, I have heard myself mumble the same when faced with contrasting alternatives. In those moments, I just wish to be told what path to follow rather than go through the task of thinking and choosing.
Contrast is not always a bad thing though. It helps give our perception clarity.
Day and Night. Black and White. Yin and Yang. Without one I would not be able to perceive the other.
It is only in the context of contrasting opposites that it is easier to understand the world around, and also to survive as a biological entity.
Take the cells in our bodies. They do not have a brain of their own. They do not know left from right or top from bottom. For them, our body is like floating in the vastness of some empty dark space.
Lacking brains of their own, biology has evolved clever mechanisms to develop a sense of direction and go where cells are needed the most.
Immune cells find the precise location of inflammation by sensing from which direction the molecules that are markers of inflammation are coming from. They do this by gauging the density of inflammation markers in different directions. The direction those molecules have a higher concentration is the direction of inflammation and is the place they need to be. Clever and beautiful, isn’t it?
Occasionally. I wish for the same sense of clarity when deciding among contrasting choices. A clear demarcation between the outcomes of choosing to go left or right. If one alternative is going to have negative consequences, while the other, to growth and well-being, making the choice would be so much easier.
The reality, however, is not so, particularly as one gets older.
The unfortunate fact is that, as you get older, some of life’s important decisions, instead of getting simpler, become harder. I can’t speak for people living in other countries, but it is definitely so when getting older in the US.
Citizens of the US confront a mind-boggling array of convoluted choices about Social Security, Medicare, when and how to withdraw funds from the Individual Retirement Account. The one-two punch is that these decisions have to be made when cognitive faculties are on decline. Our elected officials have left us at the mercy of hawkish lawyers and financial planners.
That is when I feel like saying, why so difficult, particularly now when all I want to do is to enjoy the time remaining on this Earth and spent some time meditating!
Ciao.
