by Julia Scalise, DN, PhD
What if?
Have you ever questioned yourself to think what if you had said yes or no to certain events, choices, or circumstances, when you have said or done the opposite? How would your life be different? How would your life be better? How would your life be worse?
Life unfolds in milliseconds, and actions and reactions can occur in those same milliseconds. On a larger scale, life unfolds in days, weeks, months, years and when stepping back and reflecting, do you sometimes ask yourself the “what if” questions?
When doing some spring cleaning, I was going through DVDs and making decisions on what I would donate for I’m always trying to purge what I no longer need or use. In my collection I came across a great video ( keeping this one) called “ Sliding Doors”, a movie from 1998 starring Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Virginia McKenna. The storyline is about how Helen’s life, played by Paltrow, unfolds based on one fraction of a second event.
Public Domain from pixabay
She has a job in public relations, gets fired, and leaves her office to head home. In one scenario, she catches the train to go home, in the other scenario, she misses the train. The rest of the movie plays out with the consequences of each of those events. I will admit, I love the premise of this movie, and if you haven’t seen it and enjoy the genre, I suggest you see it. I watched it again and it got me thinking about a lot of the different possibilities of my own life.
There is a belief in quantum mechanics that there are parallel universes. It is believed that there is potential for universes existing alongside and at the same time, as the one we know and in which we exist.
In science fiction writing, some storylines develop with a premise that we may be living lives in these parallel universes with some similarities but also with differences, and they occur simultaneously. Or there may be science fiction storylines displaying time travel, both backwards and forward, in which the character exists simultaneously in both time periods. Writers of this genre usually try to change a past catastrophe or prevent a future one. All in all, I find these “what if “thoughts and possibilities very intriguing.
Scientists like Hugh Everett and Bryce Seligman DeWitt hypothesized these parallel universes or many-worlds theories are possible. Therefore, there may be multiple outcomes of every event in our known human history, or in these other potential physical realities in our infinite galaxies.
Thinking about all of this actually tires my brain!
But I will admit, just on a personal basis, I began to rethink some “what if” outcomes and scenarios in my life. The possibilities become endless. When I think of all the “major life’s yeses” I’ve said and “the major life’s noes“, I wonder if:
- No matter what I chose, would I still wind up with the same soul’s journey in some ways, just with accelerated or delayed experiences in my life?
- Do we all really chose a journey in this existence that we live, and no matter what choices we make, we are still destined to live the life that will bring the same lessons, just by easier or more difficult paths?
- Does each choice we make as an individual then adjust all the other events, circumstances, experiences, and those of others we must encounter just by our simple yes or no at any given point in time? Sort of like the ripple effect of tossing a stone in a pond, our choices ripple out and effect more than we can ever imagine.
The truth is I don’t know. And the further truth is I may never know. But it is something to ponder and a good brain tickler for me. In the interim, without proven knowledge or super conscious awareness or definitive enlightenment or proof, I will just continue to make the best choices going forward. I will do as I have always done which is trust my intuition and evaluate by my intellect at the given moment, and hope it all works out the best it can.
But on those days where I feel that life is difficult or that any optional choices offered are not desirable, I will just smile and hope that in my parallel universe, things are going a bit better, not only for me alone but for the world in general.
Wishing you health, the peace you require for the choices you make, and living your best life.