Redblack Vanilla | A New Ice Cream Flavor or Modern Art Mobile? Mark Leary Designs
Mobile: Redblack Vanilla
On choices
“Even if I decide to do nothing,” she asked, “I’m still making a choice?”
And that’s when fox knew rabbit finally understood her own power.
“Even if I decide to do nothing,” she asked, “I’m still making a choice?”
And that’s when fox knew rabbit finally understood her own power.
I was hiking in Snake Canyon when the trail branched in two directions. To the right, it turned sharply upward toward a bright light. To the left, it descended into darkness. I was faced with a choice. Little did I know, my decision would determine the fate of the world.
Do you remember the Choose Your Own Adventure book series? I was obsessed with them as a kid. You, as the reader, were the story’s protagonist, “choosing” the way the story unfolded: “If you want to go right, turn to page 20. If you want to go left, turn to page 75.”
In a single book, your choices could put you on the back of a galloping horse in the Wild West, hurl you through space in a runaway rocket, and find you saving the world from evil villains, recovering lost treasures, or running for your life from dinosaurs.
As a kid, the idea of being in charge was awesome. Sure, my choices often led to an untimely demise or put me on a fast-track to disaster, but that feeling of being in control was liberating.
It was also challenging. I remember getting stuck on pages, struggling with the question of “what the heck should I do?”
But, here’s the thing: I always chose something. I never just decided to the end the story because I couldn’t make a choice between this or that. So the adventure always continued.
And yet as an adult, how many times have I walked away from adventure because I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) choose between this or that; my ultimate choice being dictated by a fear of consequences, worried about outcomes, second guessing possibilities?
As I was packing up this mobile, I was thinking about these books (the colors reminded me of the cover of The Cave of Time) and how relatively easy it was to fluidly move from choice to choice, not worrying too much about the outcome, realizing that I could always flip to another page, go back to where I was, or even start a new adventure if I wanted. It’s a good reminder.
What’s a choice you can make today to make your world a little brighter?