Mr X usually leaves his office at four o'clock sharp. But today, his brother calls him with good news. They chat a while, and it's finally eleven after four when he walks out the door.
Walking the ten blocks to his apartment, he sudenly decides to grab a bottle of wine for his supper and alters his path accordingly.
On tiny Wilson Street, a shortcut to the liquor store, Mr X passes by a fifteen stories apartment building.
A window washer slips, falls from his hanging platform and lands right on top of Mr X.
They are both killed instantly.
"Freak Accident" says one newspaper. "Random Bad Luck" says another.
"Accidents just happen" people tell his grieving mother.
OR DO THEY?
What did it take for Mr X to be at that PRECISE PLACE, at that PRECISE TIME?
How many circumstances had to cooperate?
Let's not even consider the washer, who fell and landed at 4:22 that day.
If Mr X's brother had not applied for a job?
If Mr X's brother had not gotten the job?
If Mr X's brother hadn't want to tell his brother right away?
If their chat had ended two minutes earlier or five minutes later?
Mr X debated whether to go to the gym or to cook a good supper with a bottle of wine. What if he had chosen the gym?
Mr X just missed the light and waited for 2 minutes before crossing the intersection that led to Wilson Street. What if he had caught the light?
He chose to walk on the north sidewalk because the South one looked muddy.
All this had to happen for him to be at the exact spot at the exact second when the washer fell. Add to that the set of circumstances leading to the washer falling from that window at the exact time and spot. Can we really talk of coincidence? Or of events unfolding EXACTLY as they were meant by who knows what? Once you think about it, it’s the case for every event in our life, good or bad.
I came to this by reflecting on how my killing a cat had come to happen… I had to leave the office at a precise time, I caught one green light, one red light, I decided on going to the grocery store first, the pick-up decided to pull RIGHT in front of me instead of waiting for the empty street right after me… a 30 seconds difference and I would have had the time to break and not hit it… a freak accident? I find it very hard to swallow… it took too much coordination…something crucial about the universe is eluding me...
"[...] La propriété inattendue de cette souche était due à l'intensité et la durée exactes d'irradiation qu'il lui avait fait subir. Une micro-seconde de plus ou de moins et le miracle n'aurait pas eu lieu. C'était le hasard seul qui avait décidé de la durée nécessaire.
ReplyDeleteMais le hasard est un des noms innombrables de Celui qui n'a qu'Un Nom."
Le Grand Secret, René Barjavel
Avec ce commentaire, j'ai l'air d'une freak de la religion! Pourtant, tu connais mon point de vue sur le sujet...
ReplyDeleteSi ça peut t'aider à trouver une réponse, tant mieux!
Maryz: Qui cite Barjavel merite le respect et un sourire. :-)
ReplyDeleteGitte: I believe in a branching universe, an infinite number of slightly different decisions each creating their own future every second of our lives. Yeah, it's very theoretical, but it reminds me of one thing: the past does not equal the future. Whatever events lead us where we are, asking "what if" is futile since there is no way back down the trunk of the tree. But there are an infinity of branches above us to choose from, and that's what we should concentrate on.
Maybe remorse and pain are blinding you from the grand scheme. You could decide that if there is indeed a greater coordination in all this; if so, then you are most unlikely to stand right now at the end of the sequence of events. Instead, in all likeliness, you are somewhere on the way from A to B, unaware of the greater picture and focusing on the local bumps in the road. What if hitting the poor cat had planted a seed in your mind that someday, by an association, will trigger the right reaction at the right time in the most unrelated situation?
Well, Vince, I've recovered from the pain and guilt. Don't forget this was written in the agony of the event. But yes, I do believe what happened will serve a purpose. Since nothing is random. That's my conclusion: nothing's random.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree, anybody quoting Barjavel is honoring the blog they're commenting on.
Especially since she's been reading my whole freaking blog... Maryz, I salute you and look forward to new comments. Oh, that's right I have to post for people to comment :) I'll work on it.
I agree with you on this one, B.:
ReplyDeleteNothing is random.
It's up to each person to choose how receptive they will be to things that, at first glance, seem random... ;o)
Bises, ma belle! xo
Hm, maybe I'm more cynical. I think it's just bad timing. And other things are good timing. But we are humans and want to rearrange the bad things and achieve the good things and only we can abstract the events.
ReplyDeleteThen again, everything is a consequence, either of our choices and decisions, or of a kitty wanting to cross the street at a given point.