THE BIG GO-TO

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Favorite Things. This go-to thing is along those lines, but then again, sort of not.

Like Favorite Things, Go-To's have categories. Such as:

--If I don't feel like cooking, a frozen pot pie is my go-to meal.
--During these days of 'way-too-cold-below-zero, my go-to outfit is heavy sweats, heavy socks, and a scarf around my neck--and that's just for in the house.

Then there are preferences for entertainment:

--Go-To movie/video when I don't want to think (something I've seen dozens of times)
--Go-To book when "I have nothing to read" (happens all the time)

The thing about Go-To's is that they can be fickle-what satisfied me last time doesn't register on any scale this time. They're not favorites that will be hunted out because nothing else will do. You could say, a Go-To is a favorite du jour.

The basic characteristic of the Go-To, in my experience, is that it's comfortable. We don't have to think, we search for the thing that satisfies us, and we're in business.

It occurs to me that this is a very close cousin to "settling"--for a lifestyle, a way of thinking or being. We give up our right to choose in favor of accepting the least complicated thing. Somehow, that doesn't appeal to me. What if I miss something that might bring me great joy? What if I settle for the comfortable, and discover later I could have had a new and vibrant way of seeing life for what it is?


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So what does it mean to make the effort to choose what's not so near at hand, so easy to find, so comfortable?

I think this is where we get into Outside Your Comfort Zone country. And that's not a place I want to explore today. But I'll keep working on it and one day . . . .

In the meantime, I'm making a bargain with myself--I'll make at least one decision each day that doesn't involve the easiest, laziest, most thoughtless way to live. What will I receive? Who knows? That's the exciting part.

Starting small is good. In no time at all I may be making two decisions each day!

Have a blessed week!