There are two types of choices: Instant Choice and Sustained Choice. An instant choice is what we do when selecting something off of a menu. A sustained choice is what a recovering addict does to remain sober. Or what a couple does to stay married. A recovering alcoholic does not fall off the wagon because they choose to take a drink, they fall off the wagon because they stop choosing to be sober… After that the drink comes naturally. Likewise, a married couple does not choose to get divorced. The divorce is what happens naturally after they stop choosing to work together.

This is a concept that I repeat frequently from many different angles as they occur to me. Today, I am going to juxtapose two extremes. At the small end there is the human body and a cancer cell, and at the large end is civilization as a whole and terrorist despots.

The human body is made up of trillions of cells that all have their own purpose, but are completely dependent on all the others cells for survival. They have to work as a team (whether they are aware of it or not) and trust that the others cells have their back by being successful at their specific tasks. Thus, a healthy body is like a sustained choice and a cancer cell is one that stopped maintaining that choice, severed communication, and started to fight for survival on its own.

A civilization is comprised of many people of different races, cultures, and religions. All living in their own way according to the necessities of their specific environments. The stark reality is that all the people on Earth depend on each other for our collected survival. If one part of the Earth’s environment fails, if the people in one environment are not able to find balance with their ecosystem, the degradation will spread like cancer. Thus, we must all focus on our own business and environment, and trust that others will do the same in their corner of the world. This requires a sustained choice of trust and acceptance that is enabled by good communication. Things fall apart when a group of people end the sustained choice, sever communication, and fight for control of the world (of all ecosystems) to ensure only their own survival.