Beneath The Outer Shell

our life has come to this. you're at the grocery store. you need to buy toothpaste. you see approximately 137 different brands, types, and colors. some even have 3 different colors swirled around like candy! all "approved" by dentists and all are "recommended" on various levels by "scientists" and so-called "experts".

so...which one do you buy? who do you trust?

personally, when it comes to toothpaste, i actually listen to my dentist, because i have had a few (2) say that Colgate Total is the best one around. i'm not sure how much their payback is for telling me that, but i seem to have bought into it.

in other words...i'm a sucker when it comes to buying toothpaste.

but in our world, especially here in America, we have choices, choices, and even more choices than we know what to do with.

another aspect in regards to the number of choices we have is with the invention of "TiVo" and the number of television channels we currently have to choose from. is it just me, or does anyone else think that watching television channel number 254 out of over 300 channels is a strange concept to accept? i remember when 70 channels seemed a little overwhelming.

friends of mine who have TiVo seem to swear by this amazing invention. the funny thing is, that everyone of my friends that has TiVo also seem to consistently have hours and hours of unwatched programs backed up that they constantly "need to catch up on." i find that statement to be a little on the funny side. just WHO is controlling WHO here?

yes, we have so many choices, and so many interests as a result of today's unbelievable technological world. children born in today's (1990 and after) world have no idea how different things used to be. the rate that technology is advancing is something we really don't quite fully understand yet. and at this rate, i'm not sure we ever will catch up with it. i know, i sound like Ward Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver when i talk about the "good old days", but it's true...it's even come down to the fact that we can completely eliminate sitting through commercials and advertisements for crap we really don't "need".

what's my point? life is clearly harder today because of the number of choices we can select from at any given moment. i just recently learned about a website called linkedin.com where you can post your resume online along with a profile...it's the next step up from the so-called adult version of myspace known as facebook. apparently i didn't get the memo about linkedin.com and i feel bad for not knowing about it. you can post your resume and sit back and not get any calls regarding it because there are too many posted already. or, on the other side, you can try and search through the million profiles of people who have mastered the art of inflating their resumes to sheer perfection.

how in the hell are we supposed to keep up with everything? i mean that as a serious question? there is currently a commercial that REALLY makes me wanna punch through the TV every time it comes on. it's from Citibank, and the narrator says the following during the 1st 20 seconds of the 30 second add:

every night you sleep
but your dreams are wide awake
because ambitions never sleep
aspirations never sleep
goals never sleep
hopes never sleep
opportunities never sleep
the world never sleeps...

now you might be wondering...why does that commercial get me all up in a tizzy? i feel like it just reminds me that i am behind the times, that i need to go faster, that need to catch up, that i need to get my crap together, that i need to keep up with the ridiculous speed that the technological world is moving at...because if i don't, i'll be left behind. plus...maybe it's the music in the add that makes me go crazy too...it's an indie sounding repetitive guitar weep of someone plucking the same notes over and over again along with the tingle of a xylophone that makes you wanna cry. it just strikes me the wrong way every time it comes on, so i immediately change the channel or hit mute. the commercial is on all the time now, so my channel, mute, and volume buttons on my remote control are quite worn. yes, maybe i just need to get out more. or maybe i just need TiVo.

but my point is that there are so many choices in the world and so many different options and so many different things we can master and so many things we can learn about. it's pretty much infinite, wouldn't you say? i find this to be overwhelming.

making decisions has always been a weakness of mine. i have my passions, but details i really could care less about. like, "where do you wanna eat tonight?", or "what do you wanna do tonight?" or "do i want the toilet paper with the cross stitch zig-zag pattern, or the the double roll that is as thick as a cloth?" details are just not in my agenda, especially at this time in my life. I JUST DON'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT DETAILS THAT DON'T MATTER! since i'm cheap, that makes my choices quite easy for the most part...aside from toothpaste.

i just find it a little depressing to know that with so many choices, it makes it harder to accept the decisions you have already made and will have to make every day. this goes with every possible aspect of life we can think of...consumer goods, career paths, the dating scene, raising kids, etc...with so many choices, it's far too easy to wonder..."did i make the best choice?" or the inevitable worry of "will i make the best choice?"

so what's the answer you ask? i don't know. there are too many choices to pick an answer. but i do think you just gotta have faith in yourself and a greater force to know and trust that you are making the "best" choices...as we know, there really aren't any "correct" answers in life because every one's life is always subjective and is simply a matter of perspective and opinion...but i think we can try and have a little faith that we will make the best choices from the infinite number of avenues available in life.