Three Word Wednesday challenges us to write a piece using three given words.
This week the words were ‘decision’, ‘compromise’ and ‘forward’.
Is this a poem? Maybe. It's a work. Let's call it a reflection.
Still on a serviette, of course.
Choices
It is said that every decision that you make is the right one;
that you cannot consciously choose wrongly.
But the truth is that all decisions are a compromise,
where prudence and daring collide.
The decision that you make is a trade-off
between risk and reward,
between the known and the unknown,
between conflict and accord.
The decision you make is the one that comforts you going forward,
one that makes you feel most secure.
At the time.
But to look backwards! Now, there’s the rub.
With the razor sharp clarity of hindsight,
we ponder what might have been,
ignoring the myriad of little twists and turns of fate
that have moved us from there to here,
and like Lot’s wife,
cannot resist a glance back over our shoulder.
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© J Cosmo Newbery 2012
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I loved the way you spoke of decisions...there have been times when I have taken a decision thinking it to be right, only to regret in future. But then, that's how life is. We learn from our mistakes.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I loved your comparison with Lot's wife. That was funny :-)
Ah yes, the agony of decisions!
ReplyDeleteIt is sad, how much better vision we get using hindsight. Even those of us who are trying to cut down on salt.
ReplyDeleteLife is a puzzle with its twists and turns,full of surprises. Who would have thought that a depressingly normal person could be so inspirational!Good poem with a ring of familiarity about it:)
ReplyDeleteExcellent decision with compromise or a backward glance!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, decisions! And there are consequences to them all. Wisdom in your words J.
ReplyDeletenice ref to lots wife, true we seem to look back often...and you are right that it is a balance between risk and reward...and we have to live with the decisions we make because they determine where we have gotten...
ReplyDeleteWho the heck said "every decision we make is the right one." ??? I never heard that. You are absolutely right to pick that one apart. Geeez -- sounds like New Age fluff.
ReplyDeleteLiked the Shakespeare (there is the rub) and the Bible (Lot's wife) -- nothing like cashing in on tradition! :-)
Just as when we make wrong decisions and fool ourselves that all are right, when we look back we fool ourselves again. Human ignorance and arrogance can never be overstated.
Nicely put in a poem.
New Age fluff? Maybe. But give me one occasion where you or anyone for taht matter would make the wrong decision. At the time. Later you may regret it. But you will always choose the best option that you thing is available at the time. It is not always your favourite option. That is a different thing altogether.
DeleteOh, the agony of choices. And then that bug that lives in the back of your head, making you look back and wonder....
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of mixing other schools of thoughts into my own poetry. Psychological and philosophical being some of my favorite avenues to explore. You did a masterful job here, love the philosophical discussion here. Great piece. Thanks
ReplyDeleteSo true, we can't resist looking back sometime to see what we might have missed...but very rarely do I ever regret.
ReplyDeletesuch an interesting piece. it might explain why I don't like making decisions...whose to say what is right at this moment will not produce ill effects in the future. lovely write.
ReplyDeleteClever write of the dilemma of decision making...and you are correct, decision making is based on the best option presenting - might not be really what you want to do though...
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]