'Exercise your choice' they say. Remembering it, sometimes conveniently I 'choose' to read emails in part.
Actually 'choices in life' are infinite if one 'chooses' to think so. Some 'exercise choice meaningfully'. Some do so 'meanly'.
A choice is 'meaningful' if intention behind the action is to add value to or to satisfy needs (not greeds) of the self or others. For instance, choice to stay clear of negative emotions such as fear, anger or tension, etc. is meaningful. Because it grants us a moment of awareness, a moment to dwell upon it's damaging effects. Thereby it prevents emotional reactions, if any.
Adding value means helping generate more and more positive energy at the expense of lesser and lesser energy input. A choice is 'more-meaningful' if it's done to add value to or to satisfy needs of others (and to ecology in general) as the saints do.
Choice is exercised 'meanly' if it's done to satisfy greed. Because not only it depreciates ecology and planet but also one's ownself physically-mentally-spiritually. People who smoke for instance exercise choice 'meanly' because smoking is a want. It's a desire. It's not a need to survive. It's mean because it wastes (rather sucks) energy. It produces negative energy and reduces positive energy.
Anyway, I drifted a little by design. A couple of months ago when I received an email request to write a few lines on our feelings of being associated with a musical group "Swar-Sampada" on it's completion of a decade, I 'chose to be meaningful'. SS, as we fondly abbreviate it, bonds well-established professionals together by a glue of their shared interest in singing.
Selfish me 'chose' to add value to myself by trying to have 2-(birds)-in-1(shot): One, that of expressing my feelings'; Two, expressing that in the form of a poem. Creation of poem was the additional benefit aimed at. Of course the value may reduce if the so-called poem turns out to be a boring prose.
I mailed my feelings in poetry format to my SS-niece-in-law Chaitasi. The poem in Hindi language (see picture) revolves around 'Music as a way of life' and 'Life as a beautiful-melodious song'.
I 'chose' to read favourable part of her reply so that I feel 'Great' as a 'Poet': "Dear Aunty & Uncle, I must say that the poetry is beautiful indeed". Soon her subtler-slappish request "to send a shorter version" followed. She wanted to display it during individual singing performances. She went on to say, "4-5 short lines" would be "great".
So, saying "Kabhi-kabhi mere manmein poetry bhi aatee hai, Par aab ki baar sirf satire hee bhatee hai", the poor-great poet conveniently 'chose' to settle on a satire of a Hindi song to express about SS in brief:
"Itna to yaad hai mujhe
Woh din jab (hame) geet (hi) na sujhe
Aab yari-yarana (aur) thoda-hi sahi
SS ke pyar bhare daar se Gana to saje"
Don't you find 'exercising a choice' to 'Make Lemonade when you get a Lemon' as Reiki Masters say is a great tool. You can become Great, Poor, Poet, or Happiest, Sad, Naughtiest fellow at the 'click' of your choice provided you don't allow others to control switch of your Life-as-a-Lift.
Actually by this time the 'keen' you might have noticed the 'mean' in me. I chose to do another 2-in-1: pushing so-called poetic myself under the disguise of writing this blogpost. But the 'keen' in you also knows how to keep switch of your Lift in your choicest control: not to read the poem.
By the way, unlike the complicated me, Sanjivani my wife expressed about music and her SS connection in simple terms saying: "I never really dared to see myself singing on stage until joining SS. However, the encouragement and the 100-times listening mantra of Dr Singh brought me to where I am today in singing."
Jokes apart, it's really a great choice to immerse oneself in music as a great source of unblended and unblemished happiness. And it's really-really great to be able to 'exercise' various other 'choices in life more-meaningfully'.
Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.. Aristotle.
