In the Dalai Lama’s book The Art of Happiness, he discusses the constant position we are put in throughout our lives to make the “right choice.” He believes that making the right choice is often the difficult one to make and the one we don’t often make. He states, “that the right choice is often the difficult one – the one that involves some sacrifice of our pleasure.”
Should making the “right choice” for ourselves be viewed as a sacrifice? Is it possible to view making the “right choice” as a gift? If we are in a position to recognize our option, that alone is powerful. When you know better, you do better.
When making the “wrong choice,” we betray ourselves. This is especially true when we know better! When we willingly walk into a choice that betrays our own integrity, it’s like drinking our own poison. We betray ourselves when we go against our integrity and what we know to be true of ourselves. When we betray ourselves we end up sitting in the murkiness of our own toxicity and poison. The sacrifice the Dalai Lama speaks of is small in comparison to the sacrifice we end up making and living within the tight and lonely cocoon of choosing poorly.
If and when we are able to recognize the “sacrifice” the Dalai Lama speaks of, we should see it as a gift! A gift of being able to stay true to ourselves, you GET to not compromise yourself. You GET to stay true to yourself. You get to avoid living with the aftermath of our own demise.
The ability to stop ourselves and consider our options before acting and making the right choice in our lives is a beautiful gift and should be seen as one.
