Yes or No

            Decisions are made in every move we make. From multiple choice type of quizzes to choosing what flavor of milktea to buy, we are in a constant argument with our mind on what to choose and then later on, find reasons on why we choose to do them.

As I passed by, this “sari-sari” store with this big cigarette poster saying “Don’t be a maybe”, I suddenly questioned myself on what the poster actually meant. At first, I thought there must be some kind of error for the message portrayed by it, did not translate any sort of emotion, nor did it state a direct message, but then as my curiosity increased…I suddenly realized that “maybe’s” were the safest way to answer any question.  “Maybe” would always sort of put someone in the safe zone, in such a way that it did not provide any direct answer. It is the type of answer you say when you are not exactly sure of something, and no matter how safe “maybe” may sound, most of the time, life does not open doors for maybe’s, rather it is in the finality of yes or no, that we truly discover stuff beyond our expectations.

Yes or no questions, are indeed the hardest ones to answer.  We often find ourselves, saying “buts” after yes or no, because somehow we want to neutralize or at least lessen the strength of the power of the two words. It is in the two words that we end the confusion produced in our mind. It is in yes’ s and no’s that we end the limbo of being unsure, but I would not be such a hypocrite. I, myself, cannot even answer yes or no questions in an instant. No matter how pleasing the idea of “finality” may be, sometimes once we say a yes or a no, some doors are closed, words have been spoken, and no matter how cliché it may seem, even hearts may be broken, but after all isn’t it that pain only grows even more when questions are left unanswered?

Then comes the perks of finality…that no matter how harsh some truth may be, it is still better to know the truth than forever deceive one’s self using the idea of an imaginary reality. Because no matter how, safe “maybe” may be… it is still more courageous to answer something that will provide finality rather than an unending confusion of the mind and the heart, that can only produce insanity.