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Nov 5, 2010

Alea Iacta Est

Friday, November 05, 2010 Posted by Unknown , No comments
Alea iacta est (also alea jacta est, Latin: "The die has been cast") is a Latin phrase attributed by Suetonius to Julius Caesar on January 10, 49 BC as he led his army across the River Rubicon in northern Italy. With this step, he entered Italy at the head of his army in defiance and began his long civil war against Pompey and the Optimates. [Wikipedia]

Today, this phrase usually means to take an irrevocable step ... but this is just the impression that the current society wants to give us to consistently keep the pressure up and force us to continue, even though it might not be in our best interest. 

In some way it is fascinating that we ignore our own feelings and let others take over control and have a huge influence on our life and daily routine. This might not always be a bad thing, but at the very end it does not help to drift to one or the other extreme. The most difficult challenge is to find the right balance between those 2 extreme and we always have to question our decisions and the motivation behind it. Will it bring us on the right path to find that balance or do we not care about it at all?

We all make mistakes and our decisions might not always have been the most logical choice, yet there is no way to change our past. It is part of our learning process and brought us where we are now ... we learn from our mistakes and grow up, because everything that doesn't kill us just makes us stronger.

Decisions that we have taken in our past might still have a certain influence on the here and now as well as the future, yet it doesn't automatically mean that we have to stick to it just because we don't want to look weak. Life is a never ending challenge and often we will get another perspective and change our mind, but it takes a lot of power to admit a mistake and accept the new point of view.

We always learn something every day, but we might not always realize it or pay attention to it. But we adjust our behavior ... often without noticing it. The more we learn, the more we realize that we know nothing at all and that our knowledge or the illusion that we had before is nothing compared to the potential knowledge that we gain if we walk through life with our eyes opened. 

Sometimes we have to make mistakes to get a better understanding and it might hurt, but in the long run it will help us not to make the same mistakes again. Because how shall we know that it was a mistake when we have never experienced it? That being said, it might be correct that some of our steps are irrevocable ... but most of them are not and we still have a certain control over them and can change the path if we don't let others control the direction that it is going to take.

It is in our best interest to remain as independent as possible without isolating ourselves, but if we really believe in our abilities and know our weaknesses and strengths, than we will be able to solve every problem. Everything happens for a reason and we define the path that we take, we might not always be right but as long as we keep up the confidence and try to make the decision based on our knowledge, experience and gut feeling, we will always have control over the possible consequences. 

Quite often this might appear very frustrating, boring or even irritating. It might definitely help if there is certain patience, because some problems take a while to get solved and it might get worse first before some progress becomes visible. Finding the right stability to keep up the spirit requires an open and strong mind and someone or something that you can rely on in case it doesn't work out. 

Carpe diem ... seize the day, or the day will seize you. And it won't let you get away that easily once you have been caught. Concentrate on all the things that give you confidence and help you to improve, they might not always make you happy but if it wasn't a challenge, would it be worth it? If we have to put effort into something and it is quite difficult, you can enjoy the "success" by far more when you realize what you have accomplished. Nothing will be exactly the same though as the first impression, there is always more behind it ... but we shall welcome that as an opportunity and not fear the unknown.

Thanks for your attention.

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