bad decision

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That Decision Was Not A Good One

Bad decisions lead to more bad decisions if you don’t stop to evaluate your past decisions.

There are so many good things about Canada that I could just continually write posts about this country and never stop.

But that’s not to say that Canada doesn’t have some things that are not so good. 

Canada has been a leader in many ways over the decades, but there is an area we are not good in.

As a country, we did a lousy job picking a national animal. 

Apparently, every country has an animal associated with it – lions are a popular choice. Some have bears … big strong animals. Some countries have chosen birds – often powerful birds.  

There are some countries who have chosen animals I’ve never heard of before like the huemul, which turns out to be a type of deer. 

Oh, there are fictitious animals, too – the unicorn and the Chinese dragon.

But Canada chose for its national animal … the Beaver!  

No, not the Jerry Mathers “Leave It To Beaver”. We chose the furry, tree chopping, damn building, long-toothed beaver. 

With all the great animals we have in Canada, who in the world decided that our national animal would be the second largest rodent in the world?

If we were going with rodents, why not pick the largest rodent? 

It would figure that Canada only has the second largest rodent in the world. We had to settle for silver over gold once again. 

And what about the other animal that is associated with Canada? – the Canada goose.  

Here is a bird species that looks great when flying in “V” formation on its way to the USA for the winter, but to have them hanging around on your property is a disaster!

Canada geese must eat a lot because they leave a lot of large deposits on grass, in parks, and on golf course greens. 

Nobody wants to see Canada geese on the ground, and you better keep your eyes peeled if they are in the air! 

Who made the decision to choose animals like these to be engrained in our society and engraved on our coins as national symbols? 

If we wanted to be different or really stand out, we could have chosen Ogopogo or Sasquatch. There is a lot of mystery around these creatures, but at least they don’t do us any harm … at least as far as we know. 

A national animal is supposed to be a unifying image, chosen carefully, considering ecology and culture, among other things. 

When you think about Canada, you think of nice, polite people who are friendly and welcomed all over the world – except not so much in China right now. 

… Yet we picked animals that are a nuisance and destructive! 

I don’t know if there is any way we could form a protest group and get the government to change our national animal, but maybe we should try. 

We could choose the bunny rabbit because that’s more in line with our Prime Minister’s personality. It could be a cute, pink bunny. 

Look, our government is re-writing history in all kinds of areas; let’s re-write it in a way that makes sense. 

We need a new national animal. Sorry Beaver.

Here’s the thing: It might be difficult to change mistakes in the political realm. We have to live with them. But with God, if we are willing to own our wrong actions and decisions, there is forgiveness and a way forward, away from the past. We must first acknowledge where we’ve gone wrong and want to make a change. It doesn’t have to be difficult. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What bad decision do you need to own and then change? Leave your comments below.

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I Knew I Was Making A Bad Decision

Sometimes you know when you are making a bad decision, but you make it anyway.

I’m not sure why we do it. Maybe it’s because our desire or want or hope is greater than our reasoning at the time.

We do it frequently though, even if it’s just that extra dessert, or extra helping of potatoes that ends up sitting in our gut like a rock for the rest of the day.

There are times we are pressured into making a decision we don’t think is the best. We just can’t keep saying no, so we cave in.

But I think the worst is when we make a decision that goes against our better judgement with no pressure and lots of time to rationally think it through.

I did that a few weeks ago. 

One of the guys I play hockey with on Saturday mornings entered a team in a tournament … and I said yes to playing.

I knew that saying yes meant playing more hockey in one day than would be good for me.

I also was unsure how my knee would hold up playing all day long. I have a torn ACL that I wear a custom brace for. But as I have gotten older, I have found that my knee is not as strong as it was twenty years ago.

As a result, now I will not play hockey two days in a row, just to give my knee a rest. 

A tournament would tax it for sure. 

I discovered that we were guaranteed three games in this tournament and yet I still said yes. Even when I gave the organizer my money for the tourney, I said to him, “This goes against my better judgement.” 

What was I thinking?

I know what I wasn’t thinking. I wasn’t thinking that I’m almost 63 years of age, and no longer have boundless, unlimited energy. 

I wasn’t thinking that I had a heart attack seven years ago and that hockey is not the greatest sport for the heart. 

The idea of playing hockey all day still resonated with my emotions, but my body and mind were screaming, “Who are you kidding, Paul?!”

I got myself so into the idea that when I heard we were going to have three full lines I was disappointed – disappointed because that would mean I wouldn’t get that much ice time. 

What was I thinking? Playing three games in one day, I’ll get all the ice time I need and then some. I will be so hockey-d out after three games that I will want to take a break from the ice for a couple of weeks.

The decision to play in this tournament was purely based in some recesses of my 25 year old psyche, that grabbed control of my 62 year old mind and wrestled it into a tap out hold that I couldn’t say no to.

At any rate, I was in and the tourney is just about to get underway. What have I done?(read about it here)

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we get pressured, played or simply convinced to do something that God would not approve of. Sometimes we just have a desire or want that leads us where we should not go. But sometimes we just walk head on into sin – no excuse, no one or thing to blame. We just make a bad decision. God can forgive those sins too. Don’t think you can’t go to Him and repent.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you done lately that you have no excuse for? Leave your comments below.