Choices, the heart, and God

Shall I go to the bar tonight,

Or stay in and read?

Shall I drop out of college,

Or finish?

Shall I propose to my girlfriend?

Find another?

Vote my conscience?

Abstain?

            Beneath these decisions, there is the part of us that has already chosen; if we try to convince ourselves of our choices at the level of the mind, we will always wind up frustrated. There are precisely as many reasons to pursue decision a as there are to pursue decision b; at the level of the mind, all things truly are equal.

Shall I quit my job to pursue my dream,

Or work my job while dream-building on the side?

Shall I tell my spouse my deep-down feelings,

Or wait, trusting that the feelings will subside?

            Beneath the mind, there is the heart, that which bore a decision before the choice itself presented. In each situation, the deeper possibilities of love versus isolation, community versus dissolution, peace-making versus instigation, and so on, so forth. The heart knows its values; it does not need to deliberate.

Shall I buy a new car,

Or save my money for a smarter purchase?

            From the perspective of the heart, decision-making itself is what occurs when we forget who we really are—forget that at this level, no choice needs to be made. In fact, the important choices were all made prior to our birth, by virtue of the force that placed our values in our hearts.

What is this force? The soul? Spirit? God? Some sort of pre-destination that does not require a template of faith?

At any rate, it is the quiet substrate that responds to each choice: yes, and know that whatever you choose, all is well with the all.