What is important

^{Image by Mario Aranda from Pixabay}

What is obvious?

Is there anything that is universally obvious to everyone? Isn't it something that depends on the perspective of the person attributing it? In other words, isn't it only obvious to those who consider it to be so?

I have the opportunity to say something about what others may consider obvious. Fortunately, I live in a society where free will is allowed, and where we can have our own ideas. I therefore have the right not to take for granted something that others may take for granted. I can also disagree with what others consider obvious.

Since I have the right, with regard to my own life and my way of being, to a degree of sovereignty, knowing that this sovereignty cannot exceed what is not my responsibility, and so that it does not alter the lives of others without their consent, or disrespect the rules imposed by society, written and recorded in law, I always have a say in what is obvious to me.

I cannot force or compel others to consider something obvious, or to take a certain path or make a certain decision. Obviously, I respect the social roles that each person has.

If I respect the sovereignty that others have over themselves, it is expected that I too am sovereign in what is obvious to me, and in such a way that it fits into the set of values that I know are valuable to me.

I respect everyone's sovereignty over themselves. It is a value that, for me, is non-negotiable.

What is deciding, if not choosing the best path?

The best is considered the greatest value. And the greatest value is always subjective. Therefore, we will only know how to decide if we have a reference point.

This implies having a clear notion of what is important to us. And from this notion, and this conviction, we gain the strength to face or reject what is not right for us, and to pursue what we think is best for us.

However, it is not a simple process, where everything is either “black or white.” Every second, every moment, we face points of conflict or disagreement. But these conflicts, these inconsistencies, or differing points of interest, do not prevent us from achieving balance.

Sometimes it is simpler and easier to just go with the flow, or with the tide. But at that point, we must ask ourselves the following question:

“What kind of life am I living today? My life, or the one that someone else decided for me, and I accepted without question?”

Every life has difficulties. There is no way to have a life that does not face points of division, situations that are less pleasant, desirable, or that put our health, well-being, etc. at risk. If we are to live a real life, isn't it better to live it in our own style, in our own way, with our (unique) authenticity, and in the light of our own way of thinking?

It is not an easy decision to make, as I said before, but it is in our hands, that path, that option, that choice. The cost of taking a path that may not be the one taken by the majority, or by those closest to us, often means that the same path is more painful, more lonely, or leads to estrangement from others, because we are not a necessary part of their lives, or because we do not have the same choices as they do.

^{Free image from Pixabay.com
Original text written by me in Portuguese and translated with DeepL.com (free version)}