The choices we make

While talking to Nakul today, the subject of choice came up. Some of his friends were “disturbed” by the realization that they were “wasting” away their time, while others were having “fun” and having a good time with their lives.

Both of us agreed that its not really fair to have such qualms. I mean, after all we live the life we choose. Well, there **are** exception, but lets leave out the unforunate lives of people who are forced to act against their will. In usual circumstances, we make free, deliberate, conscious decisions to do what we want and be what we are. Why then, in most cases, we have this deep buried feeling that we should be doing something else?

I often feel, for instance, that I should have chosen a more exotic career — like studying deep sea volcanoes, or sunk submarines or become an expert on the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter. We make the choices we make, and I’m perfectly happy with the life I’m living. But the thought still comes up time and again.

I guess some of it is because of the simple fact that there are just too many things to do in life, and one can’t do them all. And then there’s the saying that “the grass always seems greener on the other side”. But I wonder if there is something more fundamental to this than simply the desire to do something else than what we really like doing? Do we just fool ourselves into believing that we love the things that we do? Is there any real way of ever finding out what our “real” passion is?

I know this post doesn’t make much sense. But these are “aimless musings” after all :D