It's A Great Life To Live

warning: this post is the result of the writer's frustration due to missing her bodyjam class for over a month!.. demmmmmmm!!!!

i've a friend that is faced with a win-lose situation.. she had to choose between two choices.. at first glance, i thought it didn't look that complicated.. i mean, just pick one choice and you're done with it.. easy, right? but it's not as straight forward.. i'm not going to talk about her problem, though..

let's say..

you need to make a choice.. whether to eat out or to cook? looks easy and straight forward but there are deeper thoughts you must go through before you arrive to conclusion - which is your choice.. there are many perspectives that you should consider, based on your priority or on how you behave, your culture and your take on life... i'll try to demonstrate..

(1) let me list the perspectives first: price, storage, quantity, quality - including taste, smell, environment,... etc. the list go on..
(2) and then there are things that influence your perspectives: your priority, behaviour, emotion, sensibility, philosophy, culture.. etc. the list can also go on..

so

if i choose to eat out, i must consider items (1), the perspectives, like do i have the money?..what do i feel like eating?.. where do i want to eat?...and in arriving at this decision, i will answer the questions of the perspectives based on items (2).. i.e. i'll eat out because it's better than cooking - i'll save time and money.. i'll eat at the restaurant because i like the ambience.. i'll eat at that particular stalls because the food is very nice - regardless of the surrounding..

similarly:

if i choose to cook, i must consider items (1), like do i have the facilities? stove, pots and pans, rice cooker, etc.. do i have the time? will i save more if i cook than if i eat out? can i guarantee that my cooking is edible? do i have storage to keep leftover food?.. and to make the decision, i will have to think about items (2), say, my mom always cook.. so i get used to home-cooked meals.. or maybe, i'm cooking for five mouths, it's more economical.. i'll cook because i care what people around me think - anak dara takkan la tak masak.. or prefer to eat at home..

so, based on your items (1) and (2) you'll arrive to conclusions.. and in doing so, you might not have it all i.e. there are inevitable shortcomings in your decision...like, i'll eat out because i don't have a stove at home... but the restaurant serves very good food and provide the ambience that i like.. so i don't mind paying a little bit more or driving for some time to get to the stall.. OR i'll cook because i have the facilities and i'm a very good cook even though i'm cooking for my own self and it's not very economical..

okay.. why, you ask, can't the examples have perfect solutions? like i'll eat out because i live alone and the stall is very near my house and food is very good and cheap.. because my rambling is based on my friend's win-lose situation..so, i need to create a win-lose examples loh...

so, in arriving to the conclusion, in a win-lose situation, it's not a straight forward process.. we have to consider the perspectives of our situations to make desicions... and in making decision, items (2) will influence you.. like your upbringing, your rationality, your family that shaped you, your logic and reasoning, your priority blah blah blah... but you'll have to remember that what you think is best, might not be the best for you.. or vice-versa.. that's why you need tawakkal when your have decided on you choice.. kita merancang, Allah menentukan..