What is more difficult in life than choosing between two right choices?

Think about this problem. You are a captain of a squad known for being moral and humane. You despise casualties in fights and always try not to kill without hesitation. Recently, a member of your team has disappeared for three days. The next day of searching for your member, you and your squad discovered that an old enemy had kidnapped her. Your enemy has given you two choices; “Will you save your member or let the whole plaza burn down to ashes?”. You thought about it for a while—a member who is practically a family to you. The plaza with many people, day or night. Who would you choose? Both choices endanger a person’s life which you consider precious. One for one, and one for many. If you were to face such a situation, how would you handle this?

People will tend to choose the easier path: sacrificing your member to save numerous and innocent lives. One shall die to save many. You and your squad will grieve from losing a family member while the innocent people stay alive. Discord might start as some of your members may say you have a chance. A chance to save both choices. Where would this end? Conscience. On the other hand, people will choose the paradoxical path: sacrificing the many to save your member. It contradicts your moral values and affects your beliefs as a human. Many shall die to save one life. Your reputation might fall because of your choice to ignore the innocent lives of people, old or young. Your ignorance of upheaving the ethical and moral values in life contradicts the choice you made. Where would this end? Conscience.

Life is about living with tough choices. Like the example problem, we all have two suitable options presented in life that will make us question our conscience. To be the savior of many or not to be a savior to your member? “To be or not to be” is one of the famous soliloquies in the literary category. The line appeared in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to show the character’s dilemma in life. Other people experience different dilemmas. If we speak from the most profound truth, we all pick the third choice – not to choose because of our conscience. However, this third choice is not always present. As May Sarton said, “the moral dilemma is to make peace with the unacceptable.” We need to make a decision wherein we can live with it, where we can move on.

To learn or not to learn from past mistakes in choosing a decision and implementing it adds an experience in our lives. To be or not to be of something is your choice and yours alone. Facing the aftermath might not be easy, but losing the chance to choose? That’s more regret placed in your heart. Conscience is always there. Guilt and doubt are always there. But probability and possibility are also present. For example, lying to your mother that you were fine, but you’re genuinely not. You ignored the chance that she might be able to help you, even in the smallest and possible way. You’ll see she’ll become more worried, more anxious because she didn’t want to see you in pain. In the end, you decided to tell her the truth. Your mother helped you and guided you to be alright. See? You had a chance to choose. You always have a chance to choose. To decide which of the two, regret and possibility, weighs more.

There are a lot of variables in life that can affect the decision we are making. Numerous questions will fill our minds. Contemplation and doubt will surface in our hearts. But, we have to choose. We always need to choose no matter the “what-ifs” or the “hows.” We decide to make it possible. The what-if might not apply to the problem earlier, but in reality – we can dream the impossible but create something even better, and of course, possible.