Albert Herdianto Widjojo
Life is a choice, it is an old philosophy that we have often heard. Other philosophies related to it also suggest that “Make a choice and not carry out the necessity”. Imagine that this time you are eager to eat a salad but a condition only provides steak and red bean soup for you to choose, is this an option, or is it just a choice we must choose?
Even if you also like to eat those steak and red bean soup, but still the fact is that this time you really just want to eat a salad, right? Maybe the choice can be worse if you don’t like it or avoid the two choices offered so far.
The political temperature in my country is increasing dramatically ahead of the presidential and legislative elections next year. I am a person who always keeps the distance from practical politics for the past fifteen years, but considering that I am a member of the central board of two non-profit organizations; a mass organization and also a non-governmental organization, there are matters related to politics that I cannot avoid.
Besides, if the choices above are influenced by situations caused by fellow human beings, there are still other options that I certainly cannot avoid, namely giving full support to earthquake victims in Lombok – Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Southeastern Islands Province) located in Central Indonesia (I live in Jakarta which is the capital of Indonesia located in Western Indonesia) which is about two hours’ flight from Jakarta. This earthquake has occurred several times in the last two weeks in the province and its peak is an earthquake that occurred last night with the strength of the 7 Richter Scale amplitude.
The choice to help be followed up with various activities of gathering and organizing assistance such as; funds, medicines, food & water, tents, health & medicine, and others needed by the victims of the disaster. This is really an option to be busy which is beyond our will.
Again about choice, as whatever much as proactive we are, often we cannot avoid a necessity or a must both by people and nature. Even though we can make choices in the must that is offered to us, still the necessity is not our true choice, and that means that indeed at certain times our choices are determined by situations beyond our wants or control. In addition, this also proves that fellow humans do influence each other, as well as nature influence our life. Looking at this earthly fact, what do you think personally, what influence and choice do we want to make to influence the living conditions of humanity and nature today?
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Question of
Do you fully agree that life is a choice?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you realize that some of your choices are determined by situations outside yourself?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Are you able to respond to all the must that force you to react or respond?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
How sure are you feeling able to influence other people’s choices or life?
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Strong
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Weak
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Moderate
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Life is a choice, a great topic … you need a lot of learning techniques to understand.
Attractive feedback, Branka. Maybe you can teach me something about that.
We can’t decide what happens to us, but be get to choose how to react…
That ‘s the best way for us as the living being who thinks of responding to life.
if you treat everything as a learning experience, it tends to go down easier
For you, that is the proper attitude, right?
The news of the earthquakes has been pretty bad – it is a time when politics should be left out of decisions to help our fellow humans. But the politics are always there. …. We may not have a choice about things that affect us suddenly and profoundly from the world at large. Our choice begins immediately after these events. How we help those affected and how we help ourselves is the real choice that matters.
Thanks for the thought, my friend. How are you?
Yep! You’re right, Howard. The most important priority is to help earthquake victims who are homeless, injured, and various other impacts. Politics is always there, even when we collect and deliver assistance or supply. That further emphasizes that it is better for me to keep the distance from practical politics wherever possible.
Choices. Wow that is all I have been told when it comes to his death. It was his choice. He was only 16. He should not have been able to make the choice to take his life. Another subject… another day.
I have always wondered why others do not believe and think like I do… growing up. Finally realized a few years ago to let it go. We cannot control others’ choices no matter how much we try.
A wise thought, Carol. I think reality shows that there are people who are very easily influenced and there are others who cannot be influenced. But if the choice arrives at the matter of death, we must dive the secret while we live or not at all.
Yes I know this Albert. By the way, glad you are safe for now with the earthquakes.
Thanks for your care, Carol, but I live so far from the location of the earthquake. It was an island on the east side of the island of Bali while I was on the west of the island of Java on the west side of Bali.
That is a relief to know.
I don’t think its wise to influence others’ choices … maybe you’ll end up having to be responsible for them… but that of course depends on the influence subject and level of it
Your last sentence is the answer. If you are a parent, brother, leader, and others who are expected to guide others then you will know how important it is to show their choices, risks, and consequences. And, actually that also often happens to us, right?
Albert your last question is the one that I think most of us struggle with. We ream, desire and hope to help those we love to avoid the mistakes we’ve made. But sometimes our influence is less than we realize.
In fact, the question has disturbed my mind a few years ago until I realized that anyone in this world had given the same influence regardless of the influence it was based on office or power and recorded by history or not. One of the things that are good enough to describe my view is the butterfly effect in chaos theory.
I prefer the butterfly effect in time travel (you never know when one misstep will change the world forever) similar, but slightly different than chaos theory. The power to influence is one of the great conversations though, I do like what you have said. Each of us has a level of influence. I wonder, why we don’t then work together as people more often to pool that influence.
You are right, Doc. That the power to influence is one of the great conversations, but the power of influence can also take place without conversation, right?
In fact, the word influence that I use is not very precise, but I have no other vocabulary to say that our lives are part of collective consciousness, collective thinking, collective creativity, etc. that are connected to one another. Meanwhile, the person here who is seen as a person, who gives and receives influence, is actually just a repetitive role in a different outfit.
Seeing them as a person, now that one is something to think about. As always you have given me food for thought!
Thanks, Doc.
Often my words are just murmurs or a mumbling without logic, so don’t think too much about them.
Again, thanks.