Think of all the series of events that had to happen for you to be reading this blog right now, at this point of time. No, really think about it! The smallest of change and you wouldn’t be reading this right now.
While the act of reading my blog might certainly not be a very important event in your life but there are million other things that are! And the slightest of change in the past could have meant totally different set of conditions in your present.
Isn’t this such a profound realisation? That the everyday events in our lives, that we do not pay too much attention to or assign too much importance to, have such a literal, life changing impact.
Perhaps it is this realisation that most people need, to take more conscious decisions in their lives so as to have more control over the overall direction it’s headed to.
Clarity In Hindsight
The problem though, is that almost all of the time, we are not aware of the significance of some of the events until they have happened and led to a certain outcome.
For example, you have two choices on a particular evening. You could either go out with your friends to a restaurant or stay at home watching TV. These two options seem to be of little importance at first.
But let’s say that you get to meet the love of your life if you go out with your friends and miss out on it if you stay in. So, taking that first decision, in hindsight, would be one of the most significant moments of your life, isn’t it?
Looking back on it, you would feel lucky that you took that particular decision so that the series of events that ensued from there on ensured your meeting with your wife!
There is really nothing we can do about it as we just can’t predict the future and that’s kind of the beauty of it. The most we can do is try to connect the dots, as far as taking important decisions go and hope for the best!
The Many-worlds Interpretation
Ok, so I am going to bring in a little bit of science now, as I think it relates to the topic at hand. There is this many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics that I just realised has immense significance in what we are talking about.
Basically what this interpretation says is that there are an infinite number of universes out there and anything that can happen, has happened in one of those universes.
So, there is a universe where I am a doctor and not a blogger and there is also a universe where I love DC, all existing in the same realm of possibilities!
So, can we take solace in the fact that we are already living all the possible outcomes since birth that we can and our life is just one of those series of events out of the infinite, and somewhere, a different version of ourself is living the life we want? Or is it that much sadder?