And as quickly as I reveal my wish to act slowly, methodically, and thoughtfully, circumstances might request otherwise. Opportunities arise once in a lifetime, so I have unexpectedly landed at a crossroads, paradoxically contemplating whether I stick to the original _stratagème_ or jet down some new, unknown path. Exasperation ensues.

This writer remains torn between the ideal and real. Perhaps by placing such supreme importance in the decision I face, I only set myself up for future self-doubt and regret, regardless of path chosen. This thought exercise serves to point me in a direction, shaping my potential future. How can one be objective in knowing whether one sense is overriding another? (That is a rhetorical question, if there ever were one, as one cannot objectively analyze the competing factions in one’s own mind. This is decidedly a good and bad human trait, but I digress.) It boils down to this: Am I willing to be bold and take a risk or be conservative, watch, and wait? When I paint the situation that way, I certainly put a lot of pressure on myself, don’t I?

With that said, I leave you with another quote from Le Fabuleux déstin d’Amélie Poulain. Monsieur Dufayel says to Amélie near the end of the film, « _Voilà, ma petite Amélie, vous n’avez pas des os en verre. Vous pouvez vous cogner à la vie. Si vous laissez passer cette chance, alors avec le temps, c’est votre cœur qui va devenir aussi sec et cassant que mon squelette._ »

I seem to invite paradox, intrigue, dreams. How could I not? I’m only human.