It would be impossible to say exactly what brought me to this particular place and time. It’s a moment that was made when I breathed my first breath. Had that been a minute sooner or a minute later, things might be very different.

Causality and pre-existing conditions aside, was I always fated to find myself exactly here? Here in this precise spot in time and space?

Or is it just chance?

A random roll of the dice? This atomic nucleus decayed rather than that one?

They say life is what we make it. But it’s not wholly in my control. Some decisions are forced upon me by circumstances I could never foresee. They also say you always have choices. But that’s not wholly true, is it. Anyone who has lived more than a couple of decades knows that some choices are simply unacceptable. And what do you do if that’s the case for all of the currently available choices?

I do the best that I can in the moment. Make the best choices I know how to make. And still, things don’t always work out the way I want. Sometimes, it takes a very long time for that to become clear. Other times, the result is immediate. Sometimes it’s innocuous. Others it is devastating.

It’s the uncertainty that drags me down from time to time. But I have confidence that I can take things in stride. Go with the flow, as they like to say. I think that as you age, you find it easier to go with the flow. Youth is such an intense time of life.

Right here, right now, in this place with all that has gone before me and no real idea what might be ahead of me, I am content. There might be momentary upsets that cloud my demeanor, but they fade when I remind myself about all the good in my life. That’s a wonderful thing.

And that’s my thought for the day.

Images courtesy of Pictorem and A-Z Quotes, respectively.