Making the Choice... Not to Choose - @ecotrain Question of the Week
ecotrain·@raj808·
0.000 HBDMaking the Choice... Not to Choose - @ecotrain Question of the Week
<sub>Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/qimono-1962238/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1872665">Arek Socha</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1872665">Pixabay</a></sub> This post is my response to the @ecotrain question of the week. This week the ecotrain community has challenged people to respond to the question: [More Choice Or Less Choice?](https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@ecotrain/ecotrain-qotw-july-22-28-more-choice-or-less-choice) > Do you like more choice or less choice in your life? Do you enjoy or value having dozens of options for just about anything you want to buy? Does more choice help or hinder you?<br> <sub>quote from [ecotrain post](https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@ecotrain/ecotrain-qotw-july-22-28-more-choice-or-less-choice)</sub> ___ <h3>The Liberty to Choose</h3> I'm all for liberty of choice. The idea that someone would limit my choices, or enforce their choices upon me is an anathema to my mind. Having said that, I do think our society has become choked with choice. By this I mean that there is a deluge of information and choice. So I'm going to speak about the choice not to choose (yeah I know, that's an oxymoron 😉). <b>Take the internet for example.</b> There are so many sources of information that it has become extremely difficult to sift through it all to find fact. As an example, imagine researching an article or dissertation online. It's kind of like panning for gold. You scoop up a pan of grit with that first google search, before shaking off the majority by clicking on either an official source (e.g. university website) or Wikipedia. If you are on Wikipedia you have to meticulously track sources to find legitimacy for citing. If it's an article that's an opinion piece you're doubly screwed because... yeah... some idiot invented <i>fake news.</i> (there has always been fake news, it's called propaganda). Finally after hours of wading through different choices of sources of information you find that nugget of gold at the bottom of the pan. A verifiable factual source... internet gold. This overabundance of choice is just one example of how the cluttered nature of the modern world can cause unnecessary stress through choices. <sub>Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/OpenClipart-Vectors-30363/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1295358">OpenClipart-Vectors</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1295358">Pixabay</a></sub> What am I saying? I've got to be honest I'm not 100% sure. I value the vast resource of the internet, but I'm weighed down by the thousands of choices that are bombarded at me and find that this effect spills out into all walks of life. Whether wandering through the supermarket or walking through the city center; flashing electric billboards trying to convince me that it is an important choice I <strike>must</strike> make between one shampoo or another. This intensity of consumerist 'choice' makes me feel crowded! Possibly, this is the result of someone with the soul of an adventurer being trapped in a city for most of his life. The myriad choices that modern life offer seem to descry a constant noise, like the rumble of a main road, always in the background until rush hour when it becomes overwhelming. I've started to notice this more as I get older and it's particularly noticeably in the psychological/spiritual side of my existence. The simplicity of nature appeals to me much more these days. The call of the wind, the cry of the Swift wheeling in the face of the rising sun, the simple babble of a stream in the quiet before dawn; all of these things bring me a peace which I never find in the city. Part of why I always enter meditation naturally in the wilderness, is that everything is so much more simple. Choices are limited to elemental things such as which path to take, where to set up camp, availability of water and surmounting environmental obstacles. The simplicity of a trek out in nature reminds me that I don't really ever feel settled navigating the 'million and one' choices the modern world presents. The truth is that all of these choices are a constant flag for you to focus on a future rather than live in the present. <i>What do I need to buy from the shop?</i> <i>What brand of detergent?</i> <i>Which internet service provider will be best?</i> <i>Which coat matches my trousers?</i> Most choices in life are cosmetic, superfluous to actually taking the actions that will bring contentment. <sub>Photo by [Simon Matzinger](https://unsplash.com/@8moments?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/twukN12EN7c), quote added by me using Gimp photo editor.</sub> I guess that this is common to all people, to a varying degree. Some maybe don't feel this at all, hence why they thrive in the concrete jungle. For me, I'd much rather be wandering through the tropical jungle. I'm struggling somewhat to express the ambivalence I feel when considering the question of choice. I guess the simple answer is that I function better with less choice, but value the liberty of choice highly. P.s. I'm not the biggest fan of shopping. When I enter a shop I go straight to where the items I want are, choose and get out as soon as possible. My 'long suffering' ex-girlfriend once commented that I can't keep still in the department store, and she'd usually send me outside to play on my phone 😂 https://steemitimages.com/DQmaiuGasc2vGC6wrf3Nu7Su5GTzNSx9UJGuApEhdjAZvzU/9.png <center>All pictures used are creative commons licence, linked under pic. If you have enjoyed this post, please check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content. Thank you.</center> https://steemitimages.com/DQmaiuGasc2vGC6wrf3Nu7Su5GTzNSx9UJGuApEhdjAZvzU/9.png <center></center> <center></center> <center></center> <center></center> <center></center> <center></center> <center></center>
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