Little choices have BIG consequences

We all make choices. Choices that affect us in the present and affect us in the future. They usually don't just affect us, singularly, but also our friends and family. At the moment I'm struggling with choices others are making, but it also reminds me to be introspective of my own choices. Food for thought:

1) "Sometimes we can't see the forest despite the trees." Is that how that cliché goes? Or is it, "sometimes we can't see the trees despite the forest." Nevertheless, you understand what I'm saying. We are so immersed in our situation that we are blind to the ramifications of our decisions. The long term lasting effects that may linger into the future.

2) We see what we want to see. Not only is our perspective unclear because we are in the thick of things, but we choose not to see the big picture.

3) We justify others' concerns. If someone voices a worry about our actions we tell ourselves, "oh, they don't understand" or, "they don't know the whole story." Perhaps we shouldn't be so defensive about someone else's observations. Maybe it should give us pause. And we should evaluate a little more before those decisions are made. Obviously, it is our lives and ultimately it is our choice and decision in which we make, but it is also the same choice or decision that we will have to live with and knowing, eventually, how our decisions have impacted those we love, well, we have to live with that, too.