I am talking about chances here. After all, this is what
life is all about, right? Decisions, chances. That is basically how we build
our lives: we make it and shape it into what we want it to be. Actually it is
simple… on the surface. But we face so many crossroads (and blocks), and to survive we need to decide which
path to take, and each path will lead us to a different destination - walking down on one path may take you to a completely
different destination than the one that you might reach, if you have taken another path.
If you think about it like this, it is a little bit scary, isn't it? How you may
end up differently, if you do B, instead of A.
How your own decision impacts
your life.
And who you are.
That is why, we have so many regrets in our lives.
They say, “Live without regrets!”, but that's completely bullshit. With so many life has
to offer, with all those choices we have to make everyday, with all its bends
and crossroads and forks and doors and slopes, we can never be free of regret.
No matter how
insignificant the regret seems to be, no matter how faint the impression, or the trail your regret has managed to leave on you.
Now, this topic could also breach to something else: unfairness,
which stems from jealousy.
I came across this in a short story written by
Haruki Murakami titled “Shinagawa Monkey”, in which the main character, Mizuki Osawa,
leads a dull life that if one listens to her reciting her life history, he may yawn in utter boredom. This Mizuki, she never gets jealous over somebody
else. She understands enough that everyone in this world, each of us, every
individual, leads a different life and it is just so strange to start comparing
one’s life with another. As she comes to accept this fact, she also comes to
think that jealousy is unnecessary.
Well, that is also correct, in a sense that we all live a
different life so why don’t we come to a mutual understanding then, that what
you have – what she has, what he has, what they have – what we all have is
ours. Our respective matters.
But anyway. I have always believed, and will always believe,
that our future is defined from our present. By the decisions we take. If you
grasp the principle, you should be able to hold onto it. If you are worried by
your unforeseen future, rather than putting yourself to dwell in the
uncertainty of the unforeseen future, you’d better start investing your energy and all your thoughts in this
present moment.
