The Tragedy of the Right Choice

The Ghost of the Right Decision
We are often told that making the "right" choice—setting a boundary, choosing a new life, or walking away from a destructive cycle—will eventually bring a sense of peace. But for many, the most necessary choices are those that leave a permanent shadow. We choose our own survival, yet we carry the haunting "what if" of the person we couldn't bring with us. It is the paradox of the heavy heart: knowing you did exactly what you had to do, while still feeling the weight of the door you had to close.

To what extent is self-preservation an act of courage if it necessitates the abandonment of another?

Discussion Points

• The Burden of Agency: How do we reconcile the intellectual knowledge that we aren't responsible for another’s choices with the emotional weight of being the one who "said no"?
• The Anatomy of the Boundary: We view boundaries as healthy, but they are also walls. How do we distinguish between a boundary that protects us and one that simply isolates us from the suffering of others?
• The Myth of the "Clean Break": Some decisions are "right" but never feel "good." How do we integrate the haunting of a past choice into a healthy present without letting it undo the life we worked so hard to build?
• The Cost of the Alternative: In the wake of tragedy, we often mourn a "better" version of the past. To what extent is our guilt based on a fantasy of what we could have done, rather than the reality of what was actually possible?

Come grab a drink and join the discussion. We’ll be navigating the gray areas of hard choices.

Event Logistics
Time: Parking can disappear quickly after 7:00 PM so feel free to arrive early to begin our social "half" hour. This gives everyone time to get their drinks and get settled.
Discussion Start: Discussion will begin at 7:30 PM.
Location: Bar 1919 (1420 S Alamo St, San Antonio, US)
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