The P ublisher Po stulates
L ife is a constant
process of making
choices – some large,
some small, some
important and some not so
important. The problem is
that we never know where
a choice we make may lead.
Some choices are disastrous,
while others become the
very essence of our lives.
Most often, we agonize over
certain decisions and hardly
think about others. We know
that choosing a life partner, a
home, or a vocation requires
careful consideration, yet
other spur of the moment
actions can ultimately change
the entire course of our lives.
Many a tear has been shed
after saying thinks like “Hey, guys, watch
this,” or “I don’t see how anything can
go wrong.”
As for myself, I can’t credit good sense,
intellect, or judgment for the things in my
life that have made me the happiest. Often,
my choices have been the lesser of two
evils, or at least so it seemed at the time.
It is interesting to note that we will never
know what our lives would have been
like if we had chosen a different course.
Other than realizing that no other woman
than my wife Margaret could ever have
made me happy, (you know she edits all
my writings), I have no idea what my life
might have been if I had chosen to pursue
other avenues than I did.
Where I chose to go to college, what I
chose to study and who I chose to become
friends with are obviously part of who
I am. But might I not still have ended
up where I am had those decisions been
different? Can I really point to any one
thing and say, “If I had not chosen this,
my life would be different.” This is true
because each and every decision I have
ever made has been preceded by and then
followed by a continuing series of choices.
Moving to Florida certainly helped change
34 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2019
my life, but after moving here,
I could have decided to go
elsewhere, or do things that
were completely different
from what I did.
It is the present belief
of science that our DNA
determines who we are
and will be. Yet, with each
of us making thousands of
decisions and choices daily,
can we ever believe that we
have a clear route to follow?
Will we not end up making
a few wrong turns and find
ourselves on occasion at the
end of a one-way street that
we have to back down?
So make your choices
wisely, but never feel anything
is irreversible or cannot be
corrected or cured. Just as we have the
ability to create our own problems, we
have the power to overcome them. The
ultimate choice in life is to be happy no
matter what. It is your inner sense of being
that makes life wonderful, and not where
your choices have led you. Remember, you
did choose to read this. 9
Publisher / Editor
CHOICES
By Aaron R. Fodiman
I’ve made a lot of strange choices in my life,
but Margaret is one of my best!