The Answer Was Always About You.
Yesterday, I left you sitting on a deserted island. Seven people. One seat on the rescue plane, And one uncomfortable question: Who would you save? We came up with all sorts of answers, which, in the end, made me realize that perhaps there is no right answer. Or perhaps there were seven right answers. Did you choose? What interests me isn’t who you chose. It was why. Because something rather strange happens when we are asked to make a decision. We imagine we are looking at the situation. But we are also looking at it through ourselves. Our memories. Our experiences. Our fears. Our loves. The things we admire. The things we have lost. The people we have known. Even the people we have never met. All of them quietly come with us. Think about a photograph. Two people can stand beside each other, looking at exactly the same picture, and see completely different things. One notices the beautiful sunset. Another notices the person standing alone in the corner. A mother might notice the child. A soldier might notice the uniform. An architect might notice the building. A traveller might notice the place. Same photograph. Different worlds. The picture didn't change. Both inferred in their own way. And, probably, each of them is right. And this is where yesterday's island becomes interesting. Suppose you chose the doctor. Perhaps you thought about all the lives a doctor could save. But perhaps there was another reason. Maybe a doctor once saved someone you love. Suppose you chose the teenager. Maybe you thought about the years of life still ahead of her. Or perhaps she reminded you of your daughter. Maybe you chose the priest because you value the comfort people provide when life becomes difficult. Maybe your grandfather was a priest. Maybe you chose the philanthropist because you believe the good one person can do should somehow count. Maybe someone once helped your family when you desperately needed it. Your reasoning may have sounded completely logical. But perhaps your logic had a little history behind it. That's what I find fascinating about being human. We rarely arrive at a moment completely empty. We bring ourselves with us. It reminds me that perhaps the old distinction between "thinking" and "feeling" isn't as clean as we imagine. We see everything through a filter based on our past experiences. And sometimes, without realizing it, our past reaches forward and quietly helps us decide what something means. So, whoever you chose to save on the island, your answer was right and it will always be right, simple because, it is your perspective. Until tomorrow, Bob
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