Freedom from consequence is a dangling temptation.
When reality reinserts itself, will we react with horror, or resignation?
We may think that given time or discipline we could afford to act,
but we will still find something more suited to what we planned on instead.
Optimism only motivates so far along the course.
Listen to its shifts
and accept that sometimes practice and perseverance must contribute as well.
Every decision branches to new ones
extrapolating back farther than speculation can track without a formula.
Mortality settles like dust over time,
reminding us of its presence
when we find it in forgotten corners.
We discover fear and discomfort,
stew in the inevitable and then package it away until we stumble upon it again.