By Dawn Onley

We get to choose.

Every day we wake up, we have a brand new set of options. We have the ability to decide where we’ll work, where we’ll live, who we’ll love and like, who we’ll spend time with, or even what we’ll have for dinner.

What a blessing that is!

In a good chunk of the world, sadly, people do not get to choose what religion they’ll practice or if their kids can go to school or who they’ll marry or even who they can be friends with. For women, the opportunity to choose in these places is even bleaker.

The consequences for violating these societal norms could range from being shunned to facing incarceration, or even death.

In America, we have so many options that we take for granted. Not only can we choose what we want, but we can choose what we don’t want. This includes, as Tim Storey says, the “places, spaces and faces” in our lives that are not benefitting us.

Sometimes we stay stuck in that dead end relationship, in that miserable job, with those unsupportive “friends,” or in the same area we spent our entire lives, because we fear the unknown. We fear starting over. We don’t trust our judgment. We think the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t. As if the devil is our only option.

The truth is we often lack the courage to change.

This is fine if we don’t want different results. But if we are not satisfied with the “places, spaces and faces” in our lives, we can choose different. We can redirect our lives toward a path that is affirming and uplifting. We can find people who are kindred spirits. We can relocate to an area that feeds our souls. We can choose to not waste our time with things that don’t fulfill our highest calling or nurture our deepest passions.

It’s up to us.

But if we are set on staying stuck, we should do so in silence. What we shouldn’t do is complain to other people – or more importantly, to ourselves — if time after time, we show that we’re not willing to choose better. Because that’s the definition of insanity.

Choose bravely, sisters.

Choose love. Choose light.