My cat, Roscoe, has no trouble making decisions. If he is outside, he wants to come in. If he’s inside he wants to go out. (Unless it’s snowing.)
If he’s hungry, he eats. If he’s not hungry, he naps. No complicated deliberation required.
Me… I’m not so lucky. I struggle with my choices. Which team should I be rooting for? The one from my home town… or a Colorado team that has little chance of winning?
Should I renew my subscription to Netflix? Seems like most of my friends are subscribing to Hulu, or HBO, or Disney+. I could be missing out.
Cancel my Facebook account? Cancel my Instagram account? A lot of my time is getting wasted that I could be using for watching HBO (if I changed my subscription.) But I really enjoy the pictures of my friends frolicking on a tropical beach in Thailand. And the photos of restaurant food.
These are, however, just the annoying, minor decisions. I also have some very important decisions to make.
Like, for example, my driveway. I could shovel it, but the last time I did, it snowed even more the next day.
Which I guess brings up the whole question of ‘decisions’. When you think about it, most decisions are a huge waste of time. Someone is bound to come along and screw things up for you, no matter what you decide.
For instance. Deciding to get married. Sure, it’s fun for a while, until it’s not. You married her because (among other things) she thought you had a great sense of humor. But then when it really comes down to it, she didn’t like your humor at all, especially if it involved her.
That’s one thing I like about my cat. He doesn’t expect me to be funny. And when I make fun of him, even in front of other people, he doesn’t seem to notice. Or care.
Of course, I don’t actually try to be funny for Roscoe… at least, not the same way I tried… and tried… to keep my ex-wife Darlene amused. In vain.
Then finally, one of you decides that the marriage isn’t working. That’s an important moment. Maybe a delusional moment, but a moment, nevertheless.
The Buddha reportedly once said, “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.”
I’m still waiting for that moment.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.