Can you trust...

I was talking to a friend who is struggling with making a turning-point decision. Out of the blue, we ended up reflecting on Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and what my friend defined ‘her terrible life decisions’.

After a moment of panic (I admit that I have never read the entire novel!), I managed to grab what my friend’s take away of the story was: ‘The choice between living a lie and surviving versus living your truth and dying!’

REALLY? You manage to complete a novel that is spread over more than 800 pages (depending on the translation and publisher, it could be even more!) and with more than a dozen major characters…then you condensate it into…2 choices?

I am a firm and passionate enemy of the ‘either/or’. And, by the way, I do not think that ‘either/or’ can be applied to a choice. At worst, it could relate to a decision, such as: ‘Chocolate or strawberry ice cream?’

The world ‘choice’ originates from ‘to perceive’, because when you choose you have a natural inner perception of what is right and wrong for you; eventually a choice leaves you with a sensation of empowerment and expansion. It is all about trust.

The world ‘decision’ originates from ‘to cut off’, because when you decide you go through a process to eliminate options that considers the external reality; eventually a decision leaves you with a sensation of lack and separation. It is a lot about control.

We tend to spend our time making all sort of life-sustaining decisions, yet we spend little, if any, time making the few life-affirming choices that would drive everything else with ease. Why? Well, I believe it is because we question our ability to trust ourselves.

Can you trust when you trust?

(Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash)