'The problem is that personally, I do not have all the choices that others claim I have.  I have no choice as to the times of sunrise or sunset, or to the length of the year, in days, or to the longevity of tortoses, or to the depth of the Pacific Ocean'

… The choice is in your own appreciation and inclusion of all things.

‘I have no choice, as well, as to whether humans can (or even want to) live without economics (as economics has become such a supergod in our times, controlling human lives beyond any choice of anyone, to various degrees). I have no choice when it comes to whether there is such a thing as spiritualism or nationalism--I am told that these are "givens"...like the saying, "a rose is a rose by any other name...".’
 
… The choice is in your level of engagement with all things.
 
‘As to the few things in life (including my beliefs and the reactions of these towards others), even that choice is not completely within my control, any more than all pain can be controlled instantly...just by the person making the sudden choice not to have any pain, at all, of any kind, at any momet. I have not been able to make such a choice, and have found no one, personally, who had the power of irradicating pain, instantly, by choice.’
 
…The choice is in your dealings with all things.
 
‘That's the problem, with choice--it's so undefined, and so hazy, that a person just doesn't know if he or she has the power to make such a choice, and if one tries, it could result in anything--the choice be validated, refuted, left in limbo, or whatever.’
 
… The more understanding, the easier the choice.
 
‘Sure, I made the choice of responding to you by this reply, but that does not mean that the day of my parting from life is completely within my own choice, or that my health (including any debilitating conditions) are just choices that I make, and if I choose health, I will, in no way, have any health problems, at all. When a health issue arises, it is not a matter of choice as to whether it should have manifested, but just a portrait before the person, and the person, feeling the pain, often has a few, limited choices as to how to proceed.’
 
… Some suggest the moment of our passing is our own choice, and judging by the number of people who’ve experienced the loved one seemingly holding on till they’ve left the room, the actual moment may be, but school’s still out for me on this one.  I do have a thought that suggests the appropriateness is realised once it’s happened, but that’s more a consolation than a reassurance to me at present.  One has choices regarding how one treats the body of course, and it will respond accordingly, but regarding illnesses that are not at present linked to any lifestyle choices, ME, MS etc, there is a line of thought which suggests our choices determine even these, this process reflected at one level in the effect of the adrenals and endorphins on the body and mind, and another suggests we choose such things before we are born, for a reason, perhaps so those around us may master patience, compassion, etc.  School’s still out for me on this one too, but I do seem to notice clustering of particular mindsets and illnesses, could just be coincidence, but I’ve noticed I also suffer particular complaints when I have been in particular states.
 
‘If anyone could show me how to eliminate frustration, that would be a choice that not only I would be able to follow, but everyone, the world over (including each person in a disaster zone, including Burma and China after the recent disasters there) could follow, and no frustration would ever be felt again, by anyone--a simple matter of choice. Even those who had not seen their only child from such a disaster would not feel frustrated whatsoever as to the whereabouts of their child, as the choice would be theirs never to feel frustration of any kind.’
 
…  ‘Emotion, thought, spirit, reality, all with all, planes interplaying in transparency, as one forming the manifest’ - How we deal with each moment is up to us, the past and the future is according to each now, we can choose to build consciously.  Emotions have their course, but as gate-keepers to what we feel and think, as well as what we do, we have the choice (for the most part as I’m not sure what is happening when some-one has ‘lost their mind’) of how much of ourselves we give over to them, of how much we allow their effect to affect our now’s.  This can be hard to start with.  The will power required may be immense, good practice for self-control, but I’ve witnessed the strength of the survival instinct in its aid to will power, also the strength of a well-grounded philosophy, and of love.
 
Many spiritual, magickal and mystical practices separate the personality - thought, emotion, character - from the Self (or ‘higher self’).  The personality, ego, is seen as something that needs to be brought into alignment with the ‘higher self’.  Many mistakenly see the personality as being ‘Self’, unaware of a ‘higher self’, and do not recognise the difference until they’ve managed to see themselves from beyond their own ego.
 
Everything is energy moving at a certain frequency, including emotions.  Like a star, your energy radiates, affecting the frequencies of all it reaches, more strongly if made manifest through word or action.  The affect you have on another and any they affect because of the change in the energy you’ve caused is your responsibility, and consequence, cause and effect etc, will be set in motion.  How you deal with the consequence of that will have its effect and consequences too, creating your past, your present, your future.  Again, many different spiritual, magickal and mystical practices believe actions and interactions within existence, including thoughts and emotions, have a direct relation to ‘things that just happen’ which cause more feelings and thoughts. Practitioners see the proof of this before them, patterns that any can see if eyes and mind are open to it, but the unmanaged ego is a strange creature and will become aggressive in its protection of itself, in defending its beliefs and actions in its fight to believe in and feed itself rather than give itself over to accepting considerations of a ‘higher self’ beyond itself, with its more altruistic considerations.

If you believe all people should live in accord or with respect and regard for each other, emotions, caused by pain or any other trigger, need to be considered and controlled.  If you choose to allow emotions to control how you behave toward others, you should realise you are choosing the consequences too, and can reasonably expect others to behave according to their emotions, but if you monitor your thoughts and consider why you should or shouldn’t behave in a certain way, even if it’s because it’s inopportune, you can take charge of your emotion and have more control of the situation and consequences, possibly allowing in time the pattern to become clear so you can come to understand why things happen.  Pain is pain.  It can be dealt with for the most part, it can be avoided to an extent, but how we are about things that are and how we deal with them and others is where we have the control, is how our ‘self’ is judged, and is what forms our future events.  Living according to a ‘higher self’ enables one to ‘suffer’ less from pain and upsets, through a growing perception, understanding and acceptance of all and others.  Reacting to events according to perceptions of the ego keep one ensnared in the repetitive cycle of emotionally driven thought.