Luck, By Chance

One of the crucial variables which influence the sequence of events, happenings and experiences called life is, whether we like it or not, LUCK. The power of the environment and one's surroundings to play havoc with our 'plans' is something that many of us are not really comfortable with. Though few would really contest the presence of an 'invisible hand of fate', but it might be interesting to explore the various 'stands' people choose to take to accept its presence in their lives.

Exploring the four dominant stands I feel is pretty inclusive and will address the type of relationship most people have with the often elusive, but enchanting 'Lady Luck'.

Perennial Cursers

We would have inevitably have had our fair share of encounters with people belonging to this profile. They are supposedly the most unfortunate people in the whole world. They feel that Lady Luck likes to seduce them to the bed, and then vanish into thin air. They complain that 'teasing' them is her favorite past time. And the worst part is that they are extremely vocal about it. They would speak at length about how close they were to achieving the dream of their lives, but then 'fate' decided to hand them rotten tomatoes instead. I've listened to such people and can't say that it is a very pleasurable experience. I feel that after a couple of failures, they go into a sort of 'self-fulfilling prophecy' mode – branding themselves as losers and hence, ending up proving it true.

Eternal Paranoids

They are the most eccentric of the lot. They realize and acknowledge the overbearing impact 'luck' or 'chance' play in their lives and want to believe that they have a way to influence it. Many top industrialists in India fall into this category. One astrologer who had proved to be right about something, or turned out to be lucky for them loses no opportunity to fleece the 'moolah' out of their ever willing cash cows. However, I personally feel that no matter how much you trust your astrologer, or believe in the 'rings' you wear on your fingers to ward you from misfortune and evil, they fail to buy what you seek the most : "Peace of Mind". Fear about the uncertainty and paranoia regarding the unknown dictate their life and they are usually quite gullible.

Firm Deniers

An interesting stand which people take is one taken by people who claim "I am the Master of my own Fate. I am the captain of my ship." Yes, it sounds bold, chivalrous, exciting and it probably is. This category of people believes that results are proportional to 'talent' and 'effort' or feel that good comes to those who deserve. They probably have had numerous instances in their lives to reinforce their views and usually are strong willed, passionate and ambitious. They are the 'go-getters' of the world. No barrier is too much for them. No height is too high for them. I admire their spirit and am slightly envious of them, to be entirely honest.

Rationalists

Probably the most uninteresting people of the four. They understand and acknowledge that there are certain things that they cannot do anything about and other things that they can do something about. They reduce the worry and tension in their lives by classifying all their worries into either of these lists. Then they try not to think about the variables which are out of their control and redirect their focus on things they can impact, control or change. These are good people to ask for advice as they usually are better at weighing both sides of the equation before rushing into a decision. But they can be terribly boring at times.

This is the second post of the 'Inspired Thought' series. And hopefully, more will follow.

 

Harmless Lying

The title of the post, just after the previous one exploring new dimensions of honesty, might suggest that I am a true 'turncoat' by any standards. However, I defend my integrity by saying that true to the spirit of debating, the other side of the coin always needs to be explored. One can expect his horizon of knowledge to grow and expand only when he or she is receptive and tolerant to seemingly contrasting viewpoints. Moreover, this is a 'written-to-request' piece, the first of its kind in both my blogs. It was a request which I couldn't turn down and added to the fact that challenges spur and invigorate me, I decided to put the 'fingers' to the 'keyboard' and see how it finally turns out.

The 'harmful' aspect of lying is fairly understandable and needs little deliberation of the innumerable negative consequences it can lead to. Ranging from economic or monetary losses to emotional or mental trauma, the list is without an ounce of doubt very encompassing. However, 'harmless lying' is a shadier territory and demands further attention. There is a popular school of thought which believes "A lie that does well to everyone is better than the truth which has the potential to shatter someone". Medically, it has been observed that a promise of 'false hope' to terminally ill patients has often resulted in miraculous recoveries. If hope can be spread through a lie, isn't it good for all?

However, just like every domain, things are hardly just black and white. And the grey areas are the ones which interest me compared to anything else. Consider a situation where you have a friend who is facing problems in either his studies or career. Now, egging him on will definitely be considered one of the noblest things to do. But, what are the chances that making him believe something that is not true actually prevents him from realizing his true potential in another field for which he could have a natural flair. This leads me to ask a basic question: Does the person lying know the full implication of his actions?

Generally speaking, most would understand as 'harmless lies' would be things which people say with 'no intention to cause harm or loss', or rather with 'good and noble' intentions. More questions need to be asked to understand the implications of the action: 'What is the motive?', 'Who are the other stakeholders involved in the equation and how will they be affected?' and 'Is the good caused to someone coming at someone else's cost?'. Coming back to the question posed in the last paragraph, I feel almost nobody ever does understand the full implications- because it is impossible for the human mind, however powerful it might be perceived to be, to fully fathom the various scenarios that a simple choice can lead to.

Coming to my favorite topic: GOD. Is it a lie? Is it the truth? Or is it a gap-filler? I personally feel 'God' was mankind's answer to everything that he could not answer, understand or comprehend. It served a lot of good purposes. It united people under a common platform, advocated the ideal way of living in harmony by prophesizing the fear of the 'unknown' through intelligently designed concepts such as 'an afterlife', 'heaven' and 'hell'. It also provided much needed hope, a common bond that could tie people together and let them live in harmony. But what about the negative consequences that are a result of it. What about the imbalance of power it resulted in through 'intermediaries' or 'god-men'? What about the innumerable and despicable acts of violence carried out all over the world in 'God's' name? Was it originally intended? I definitely don't think so.

I would like to conclude by a quote I heard somewhere and really liked "There is no right or wrong. There are only consequences of your action". Fortunately or unfortunately, we are not capable of understanding or comprehending the consequences of our actions. It saves a lot of pain sometimes and leads to great things, but can and often does incur an equal amount of pain.

The lack of humour in this post is deeply regretted but I couldn't really figure a way to put in any!