Aristotle once wrote that a tragedy is the imitation of one complete action. If a tragedy is the imitation of one action, it then follows that every event contained within that tragedy is an effect or byproduct of the first action. In other words, a tragedy may be conceived of as a chain of events stemming from a single action. Aristotle may have been talking about the tragic art form, but his words also seem to ring true for everyday human action: the decisions we make set off a chain of events.
I don't mean decisions like choosing orange juice over grapefruit juice at breakfast - rather, the decisions I have in mind are ones with the potential to significantly affect others.
For example: Patti Blagojevich has decided to participate in NBC's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Her choice to appear on a reality tv show seems to be a direct result of the charges against her husband, former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In regards to her decision, Blagojevich, who, like her husband is currently unemployed, told the AP: "I didn't seek this out. And if it wasn't for our financial situation I probably wouldn't consider it. You do what you have to do when you're, you know, a mother of two" (Robinson).
I mention Aristotle and Blagojevich in order to make a larger point, one that I think is often forgotten: the decisions that we make at work affect our life outside of the office and vice versa.
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For more information on Blagojevich's decision, see Mike Robinson (AP)'s article: Blagojevich's Wife to Join Reality Show
For Aristotle's On Poetics, try Seth Benardete and Michael Davis' translation: Amazon.com
Image: oconeetheatre.org
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