Dear Jack

When you said the second hardest thing in life is choosing where to eat, and the hardest thing in life was choosing what to eat, I did laugh and tease you about what you were going to do if you were to go on a date. But that conversation got me to thinking, and finally I wrote your appreciation note with that chat in mind. You, of course, caught my fumbling attempt to make you think about making a choice, a definitive, once for all choice. That one choice having been made, would then imply you would be stuck with whatever it is you chose. This made sense to me at the time, you see my whole life I have been taught I had to choose.
But once again i am thinking. Actually, I have been reading, reading about a man who would probably agree with you...a man who believed it wasn't so much about choice but about faith. And it is not so much about what he would choose to eat but more about eating what was prepared for him. His name is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian.
I still think it's quite amazing that the entire Batam trip you never actually ordered a drink or meal for yourself but simply ordered what the person next to you was eating. So to take back what I said earlier, or rather wrote earlier...(I love taking back what I say...it's a gift of mine to say things I am not quite sure of, then take them all back...since i said them, I can right:) I think your philosophy on life is quite true, trusting a friends choice in food is the best kind of friendship. And maybe it's not so much about the food as about who you are eating with to begin with.

As to free thinking, and being a free-thinker...just think of me as a bit of a bossy older sister when I say these things to you, I don't know why but you are someone whom I have started worrying over, I didn't choose to, really, it happened as I got to know you a bit...anyway, this one might get a bit muddied since I am not quite sure what you mean by a free-thinker...is it simply open-mindedness?...but here are some of my thoughts...freedom in our thoughts, to think anything we want is quite fun, to allow our imaginations to fly away, to be creative, to have that kind of freedom is wonderful. Freedom from our thoughts, if the freedom you are talking about is to be free from our perspective of the world, to be exonerated from living with integrity between what we believe and how we act...I believe that sort of freedom can lead to craziness...our bodies hold our physical presence in one place, and so too, I think our free thinking, is hemmed in by how we work it out in our lives...I am not sure if I said any of this clearly...but i did want to write something down, even if it comes out silly and I take it all back later...:)...I don't pretend to be any sort of expert on anything...but I did want you to know, It was lovely chatting with you...Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year...