This beatifully fashioned globe of ours becomes so gloomy and life seems to be unworthy of living on account of too many wrong decisions made by human beings. Many people find themselves fragmented and little security and less hope of their future. So, there is no wonder when threats and hatereds color the talks of their days. And it is just so pittiful hearing them say life is too unjust for them and consequently the decide to put to an end to their precious life. They, influenced by their wrong frame of thoughts in their decision making, tend to view life more as a disaster to be avoided as much as possible than as a grace or God given-gift to live to the fullest in this fascinating world. Leading by their insticts of hopelesness, they are more easy to give surrender to the hardships that come to their lives than to stand up and fight for it in order to go higher to where they aim to be. Consequently, as a mater of fact they often wonder and wander if happiness will ever find its way back into their lives. Henceforth, the very essential and fundamental question to be asked for all of us is what does it mean to choose? Or is it true that life is absurb on account of what we choose?
Viewing the stated short description of life facts above, we may agree that one of the most challenging and momentous aspects in our lives is decision making. Since life per se each moment of our existence presents different pictures of varied realities, consequently we must choose from all those life available options that are suitable or at least beneficial not only for ourselves but also for the common good of others. That is the very reason, for example, as to why people have to choose what particular and appropriate words are to utter and are not to utter when they communicate. What they are going to do and they are not going to do. We often witness some juveniles of ours make some frightening choice that in turn can ruin their lives. Parents sometimes have to meke their own choice partaining to their family life. The presidents of the states and the manager of the companies opt to make very demanding choice that in one way or another affects the life of many people.
variety of things in life forces us to choose. Choosing of what is good for ourselves and others from all the various things of life that present to us is truly not a piece of cake decision to make. It requires a lot of supporting skills and ruins a lot of energies of ourselves. It is precisely due to the fact that, whether we like it or not, who we are today is the product of our choices that we have made. In other words, our life today is the result of our choices of the past and our life tomorrow will be the result of our choices that we make at present. John Paul Sartre, many claim him to be the father of existencialism, says that existence precedes essence. It means that people first of all exist, confront themselves, emerge in the world, and define themselves. Thus, Sartre’s chief point is highly subjective that people can presumably set out to make themselves anything they wish because human beings have greater dignity than stone. What a person gives dignity possesion of subjective life which means that something moves itself toward future and is conscious that it is doing so. Therefore, man, as he says, is being-for-itself or conscious subject which differensites him from a stone or being-in-itself. It is good to note that being a conscious subject is to stand constantly and resposibly before the future for his existence rests squrely upon each man. Take an example of those of us who would like to be English teachers someday. Our choices that we make today should lead us to what we aim to be in the future. We should stand constantly and consciously to our choices and be committed to it. In other words, we cannot say that i am committed today and will not be committed tomorrow. It is not a genuine choice because when we choose we are fully aware of it and henceforth we are accountable for whatever consequences of it.
Our choices reveal who we are. I would like to give an example of a bautiful picture drawing. We know that it has been made by someone who had in his mind a conception of it, including what it would be used for. Therefore, when we think of people’s nature we tend to describe them as a product of a maker or of a creator. If that is, man is what he makes of himself; he has no one to blame for what he is except himself. When a man chooses in the process of making himself, furthermore, he chooses not only for his individuality but he is also responsible for all men. As wahat Sartre says that eventhough we create our own values and thereby create for ourselves we nevertheless create at the same time an image of our human nature as we believe it ought to be. When we choose this ot that way of acting, we affirm the value of what we have chosen and nothing can be better for any one of us unless it is better for all.
Finally, let us be aware of our choices we make for what we are is waht we choose. We are not in the past nor in the future but we will become waht we are unless we make our choices rightly today. If today we choose wrongly, we are realiable to our essence.
Malang, February 25th, 2010.
