January 7, 2014

Sometimes, for what seem like the very best of reasons, I keep doing things I don’t want to do, and perhaps should not be doing.

Perhaps a good friend thinks it best I continue. Perhaps she would think less of me for discontinuing.

Or perhaps she is involved in the activity I’d love to drop, and it has become a social thing. If I stop, that may impact her, push her to take an action she otherwise would not. Is that fair?

Perhaps someone involved might have hurt feelings if I stop.

Perhaps I’m so accustomed to the unwanted activity that I might find myself at loose ends should I no longer have it as part of my routine.

Or, perhaps, it’s perfectly fine if a friend thinks I’ve made a poor choice on a certain issue.

Perhaps it’s more than reasonable to choose to make a change, to treat one’s friends and associates as competent beings free to make their own choices too, and to thrive whether or not I’m involved in all the same activities as they are.

Perhaps an action I take, here or there, may inadvertently result in someone taking it personally and having hurt feelings. And perhaps we could survive nonetheless.

And just perhaps I would relish the opportunity of finding myself at loose ends and charting a new course.