Toss The Coin

The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

Publius Tacitus
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This has been a difficult week for me. I'm faced with the dilemma of making a life changing decision. The decision isn't potentially life changing but one of the two choices is. I've been thinking about how easy it is to be turned into a major change of our lives because of a simple act, such as signing a piece of paper or saying a one syllable word like "yes" or "no."

Our lives change to one degree or another every day because's of choices we make. Most of the time those changes are minor and we don't see them as changes simply because we probably don't know what the alternatives were. Other times the changes are major ones but we may not remember what the choice was that brought it about. It may have been a simple choice with enormous results we didn't expect. It's baffling. "What choice did I make way back that led me to the situation I'm in now?"

When faced with a difficult choice reason is the best tool to use, but that takes mental effort, sometimes painful. We would rather have a fast answer so we flip a coin, read Tarot cards, consult the I Ching, check out our horoscope or look for a sign from heaven. But Shakespeare wisely said "Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie which we ascribe to heaven."

One afternoon a friend and I decided to go for a drive in a part of New Hampshire we were unfamiliar with and to decide where to go by flipping a coin. Whenever we came to an intersection coin flips would tell us which road to take. We stopped for lunch at a dull diner. The food was dull and there were absolutely no pictures or decorations on the walls. On the other hand we turned up a hill that took us to one of the most magnificent sights. To our right the hill continued up to a mansion of a house and to the left to a large wide field of wild flowers with gray mountains way in the distance. We just stopped and stared for quite a while. Eventually our coin took us back onto a highway heading home. I don't know where we went but it was a fun road trip through a strange part of central New Hampshire and I will never forget that magnificent view our coin led us to.

I will find the remedy in myself and come to a decision, and it won't be based on a coin toss. I will no doubt opt for enterprise rather than safety. Ah, but which is which? That's the dilemma.

DB - The Vagabond
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Weekend Puzzle

A minimalist cryptogram.

B'S GHH GH1 TXTPE P.M.

GHH GH1 ZTTHBFI AZURE

1L'O CATPT U R & AYC U R

& BZ U R GHH GH1 2.

BPXBFI NTPHBF

(G L)
DB