Choices

There's a ton of things on my mind this morning. Interestingly, they all seem to involve choices. Among other things, a triple homicide a few miles from here. A woman and two pre-teen boys shot to death. Also a man shot, but alive. At this time, they don't seem to know how the four people were related. On the same news website, a young man shot to death by his 3 year old son, who picked up a loaded hand gun his parents had in the house and accidentally fired it at his father. Something that poor child will have to live with the rest of his life.

I'm sitting here thinking how many people's lives have been affected by these two senseless acts. Family members, friends, class mates, coworkers. Choices. Hooking up with dangerous people. Leaving a loaded gun where a child can get their hands on it. Bad choices.

We make choices every day. Sometimes they seem very simple, but actually one bad decision, and your whole life can change. "Do I have enough room to merge on to this expressway?" "Did I set the microwave for 1 minute, not 10 minutes?" "Should I let my small child pet that seemingly friendly large dog?" Those are split second choices. Other choices take more time to have an affect. Choices about relationships, careers, education, substance abuse, our own health.

But bottom line, for every action, there is a reaction. Every choice we make matters. Even the small ones.