Smyrna Breeze, August 21, 2007
Editor’s Notebook

“People, Places, & Things”

David Kennedy

David Kennedy

Decisions often turn into the most difficult thing we have to deal with in our lives. Think about it: almost every obstacle, every success or failure, every dream, every single thing we have faith in traces back to a decision.

That may be what makes them so difficult. As we navigate life, decisions present themselves everyday. So how do we make them? How do we know what is right and what will make us change and grow?

The answer is we don’t – not really anyway. We can analyze, listen to our confidants and finally make a move, but growth and knowing what is right often comes from the decision itself.

I kept thinking of this Sunday after I interviewed 15-year-old Mandy Brooke. Look for her story in Wednesday’s Observer.

Most girls her age would be aspiring musicians, but she is far from that. The sophomore at New Smyrna Beach High School has already developed into a seasoned performer on stage thanks to a dream she has decided to follow, a pair of loving, supportive parents and talent she has confidence in.

According to Brooke’s parents she was singing before she could talk. You know you have talent if you can make harmony out of baby talk. The straight-A student wants to pursue music in college and hopes to sign a big record deal someday. Now, she’s just happy singing and playing guitar at her weekly gigs.

I was struck at how passionate she was about music and practicing her craft, much less making millions of dollars selling records. So how did she know to skip homecoming to play music? How does she know this is her dream? How was the decision made?

I can’t speak for Brooke. I think the process differs for everyone. However, there’s something I’m realizing as I get older and overcome more of life’s little traps: the biggest decisions are often the easiest. If they aren’t, then we as individuals are trapped in denial of the truth or are so clouded by possibilities that we miss the right call.

So often the right decision comes from the softest voice in the head. Perhaps you already know this. After all, I never promise anything earth shattering here – just something to think about.

All you can do is locate that quiet voice and follow it. Maybe the decision turns into the biggest mistake ever made, but one never knows that until a decision is made.

Decisions breed knowledge of the self faster than anything else in life. That’s how people can grow from change within themselves and their lives.

So maybe all we need to know is that decisions need not be always right, jsut that the only wrong one is one that’s never made.

David Kennedy is the editor of The Observer Newspapers, which include The Observer, Smyrna Breeze, and The Edge.