Decisions, Pt 1

I've been thinking about decisions.  This post is labeled Part 1 because I know there are more layers of this to explore than I've reached so far.  But I have something to write, and articulating it here will help me process it further.

I recently came across a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote about decisions:  "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

I've written before about aligning my awareness with the pulses of the world, and how that brings a sense of effortless and inevitability to life.  I don't think the universe is an active agent, following us around and rewarding us by responding to our decisions.

Rather, I think that when we make a decision, and commit to pursuing an objective, we allow ourselves to see all the resources around us that can support us.

I also think its possible to make a decision and to not find any evidence that the universe is conspiring to make it happen.  Decisions that are made without humility, awareness and acceptance of the world as it is, are likely to be stymied and frustrated.

I've also been thinking lately about the sense of being stuck, and the process of creating space and movement that leads out of the stuck place.  It occurred to me that when we are aware that we have a decision to make, that may be evidence enough that we are, to some extent, stuck.

Most of what I do, the actions I take, the things I focus my attention on, are not done with the point of view that I am making a decision.  I just do them, because they seem like the right thing to do.  But of course any of them presents an opportunity for a decision, because for everything I do, there are an infinite number of other things I could do.  What a nightmare it would be to face everything as a decision!

So what is going on when I do identify something as a decision?  Is it a sign that I am out of the flow, stuck off on a siding somewhere, confronted with some uncertainty or fear (are they different?) that has kept me from simply moving ahead, doing what I know in that moment needs to be done?

To be continued....