The Paradox of Choice

The title of this posting, "The Paradox of Choice," is actually the title of an interesting book I've read in the past couple of years about the negative psychological impacts of too many choices.

It's a frequent theme in my thoughts, a problem that is particularly acute in modern western society.

The other day I was visiting a book store and I was overwhelmed by my choices. So many books to read, so many appeared to be interesting, I had no idea how I should go about selecting one. On top of that, I feel like I 'should' be reading certain books in order to keep up with current events.

On a whim I went to the religion section. I browsed the sections on Christian spirituality, which included any number of subsections I can't think of now (devotionals, fiction, Catholic theology, inspirational, bibles...). Each section seemed compelling, and I browsed the titles with a pang of guilt. I skipped over Islam, Judiasm, and Sufism (all the time wondering how much am I missing, how much I would like to know more) and settled on the Buddhist section. First I saw the Dalai Lama's works, which appeared to be about two dozen extremely compelling titles ('The Art of Happiness','Cultivating a Compassionate Mind'). I thought to myself briefly that anyone that popular could not possibly be so insightful. It was my version of sour grapes over not having the time to read these books.

I skimmed over numerous other Buddhist authors, and thought about how each one might contain unique and revealing wisdom especially pertinent to living life well. Which of these great men and women should I choose as my teacher? How can I find those worth reading without having to wade through messy intellectual thickets? I settled on Ticht Naht Hahn (whose name I can never spell right) and started to browse through his dozen or so plus titles. Anger and peace both seemed to be major themes, both appropriate to me. After browsing through a couple titles, I decided there was really no where to start, no where to begin, and went over to the business section where I could be more superficially distracted.

One simple bookstore in a corner of the world, and far too much knowledge and wisdom for me even to contemplate absorbing.

It reminds me of an art teacher of mine who would often say "Life is short and art is long." And yet we have to make some kind of work of art out of our lives before they come to a close.

Comments

Anonymous said…
In the book Stumbling Upon Happiness, the author takes a look at some studies that examine what people do when faced with "too many" choices. As it turns out, even having to choose between just two things is enough to make some people feel out of control.
December 31, 2007
Anonymous said…
I should clarify: having to choose between two seemingly equal things (no clear cut right or wrong choice) could make people feel frozen - and not want to choose at all.
December 31, 2007
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Idea of "White Supremacy Culture" is Offensive

Anyone with a cursory knowledge of history and cultures knows that all cultures have both oppressive and liberatory aspects. Historically, it was quite typical to conquer, kill, and enslave neighboring groups or nations - just ask the Aztecs or the Mongols. Historically, European and American culture are rife with oppressive aspects, but not particularly more so than any other culture. Part of the joy of being an Unitarian Universalist for me has been its openly syncretic approach to finding wisdom; that is, we seek great wisdom from all cultures, and at least historically have been able to borrow and build upon such wisdom without apology. In my own personal experience, I have gained wisdom from European, Asian, African, and Native American cultures, among others; as well as Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Pagan beliefs. To pursue truth and wisdom wherever you find it has historically been one of our great blessings. With new walls being erected about certain traditional bel
Read more

Universalism and Color Translucency

 I believe in universalism. That is, I believe what connects us as human beings is more important than what divides us. The inherent worth and dignity of all persons. That all persons are entitled to dignity and respect. It's not a new belief. It's not an easy belief. Conceptually it's quite simple. And yet I don't think it needs revision. I don't think it needs an asterisk. I think universalism is a concept that can endure across time and across space. The love that I feel is not different than the love you feel. Nor is the pain or the suffering or the yearning. Nor is my flawed nature. My mortal nature. My limited nature. We are different in so many particulars, and yet we share so much in common as human beings. Put it another way. I think our common humanity is more important than our hyphenated humanity. We are different races, genders, sexualities, ages, and capabilities but none of this should divide us irreconcilably. It is possible to connect across these d
Read more

Two Types of Community Conversations

When I think about what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist and how that might change, I think about two different ways of having conversations. If the first way, we start from the principle of universal human equality and human dignity. We start from the approach that the search for truth is grounded in love. This is based upon our current Seven Principles. Based upon these principles, all voices will be given equal weight and an equal chance to be heard. And those listening will endeavor to listen charitably, with an ear to acknowledging and empathizing with what each speaker says. Under such conditions the growth of mutual understanding is possible. While agreement will not always be reached, we can build community through this process of recognizing each other, including recognizing our very real differences. In the second way, we start from the assumption that all verbal interactions should be seen through the lens of unequal power. People of color, women, and LGBTQ people hav
Read more