I did not choose to
Live
One day I was just
Here
I did not choose
Where or to whom to
Be born
But now that I AM
I do have choices
On how or where
To live my life
I can make it great
Or royally screw it up
I can be happy
Or sad
Or crazy
Or just not care
My choice
What I cannot do is
Blame any of it on
Somebody else
I did not choose to live
But the choices I make
Are MINE
-
Author:
Alfred Peyer (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: September 1st, 2017 00:01
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 72
- Users favorite of this poem: myself and me
Offline)
Comments9
Choices = decisions - and my current dilemma - what to have for lunch so I can get on with the prep. Enjoyed the read.
And I, dear Michael, have to make my choice for supper! Thanks for your comment!
Very true, the main choice is that you (and I) do live. In life we have other choices to make which may or may not improve our lives but they are neither here nor there as they can be changed, but the choice of life is the one that MUST be taken. Good write Fred.
I kind of agree, Goldfinch. The choice of life was not made by us, but by our parents, or God, or whatever.
On the other hand, if we believe in the reincarnation of souls, where souls on the other side decide to go back into a life, then, in a way, the choice is made by us, but not consciously.
My main point here is that we cannot blame society, family, or whoever for who we are. Our choices in life are made by us and therefore we carry the responsibility.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! You are a good friend here!
Love the sentiments in your poem - so true. Problem is some people like to blame others for their choices! I call it 'the bat back' syndrome! Enjoyed your work.
Thanks so much, sue! And you are so right!
Ah, but what if we Did actually not only choose to live, but also chose our parents? A bit of Buddhist philosophy thrown into the mix for fun and pondering. Either way, once we are here the choices are indeed ours to make. I enjoyed this thought-provoking poem, Fred!
Ah Louis! My mother in law was a Buddhist and I spent many a day at the temple with my wife and her (my wife is a Catholic), burning incense and praying, listening to the monks chant. Of course we choose our parents, and of course as souls, before entering the physical world again, we know exactly what we are getting into. We need to learn, don't we? But, alas, once born, there is no recollection of all that went on before, and as you say, the choices are ours to make.
Thank you so much for your comment!
A Catholic wife with a Buddhist mother ... Go Figure! That pretty much covers the entire spectrum of religion, doesn't it? They must have had some interesting discussions.
To top it off, I grew up as a Protestant in Switzerland. And then the languages. Mother speaks Chinese, with very very little English. My wife speaks Chinese, English, French, and Creole. I speak Swiss-German, German, English, and French. So we have different races, different religions, and different languages, all thrown into the pot. And guess what? It worked!!!!
Your own little mini-UN!
Indeed, I always have to make the choice to stop reading your poems over and over again, trust me it's a hard one.
Lol, thank you so much for your kind comment, poetboy! 🙂
Well written and expressed
Thank you for reading and commenting, Tony!
Welcome
"I did not choose to live
But the choices I make
Are MINE"
So you decided to post the first poem for today, I guess.
Very deep thoughtful poem.
Thanks M&M! Midnight on the site is 7pm for me here in Hawaii. We are always behind everybody else. Many times, when commenting forward and backward, I am talking with tomorrow, and the other party is talking with yesterday. So if I happen to post at 7pm, I just might be the first one! 🙂
And no, I did not choose to be the first one, it just happened.
I am happy that this poem makes readers think a little. Since I am not as good as many of you are in imaginative beautiful writing, I guess I have to concentrate more on the content!
Such a great writing, inspiring so many great comments. I'll not put all mine here now but you'll see them in a few days on my post, think it will be titled "what I used to think." second read today that has sparked of words in my head, thank you my friend.
Thanks so much PD, am looking forward to read all about what you used to think!
Oh i love it Fred. I wish everybody could think like like that instead of whingeing and whining 'it's not fair'.
Excellent thought and writing.
P.S. I share your opinions on reincarnation, the spiritual world to which we return after 'death' etc.
Thanks so much d a, you know I have my own way of looking at that spiritual world and it is nice to hear that somebody shares the same ideas. In no way would I want to 'impose' these ideas on anybody. As far as I am concerned, live and let live, let everybody believe whatever they want, just don't have them try to convince me that their view is the right one, or the only one.
I totally agree with all you just wrote. I was shown and led to my beliefs and it had noting to do with any other person or their belief. I do happen to be interested in the buddhist religion because i understand it includes my beliefs in its teaching and next week i begin taking classes which are an introduction to that teaching.
Good for you! I am happy for you that you found something that speaks to you. I read about Buddhism, visited the temple of my mother in law many times with my wife and followed all the outward manifestations like burning incense, etc. There was always a very calming presence. And I admire Buddhists for not trying to convince other people. It has to come from the inside! You can always write me on my mailbox about your progress, or if you would like to discuss something. 🙂
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