Maybe - Maybe Not!

I have been reading Robert Fulghum's book titled "Maybe - maybe not".

This is a great read, and it addresses one the key elements that puzzle us in life - the vagaries of chance.

While we teach that thoughts become things, and that our dominant thinking will result in our overall experience, it is obvious that an element of chance remains in all aspects of life. Fulghum explores that in his book.

Here's my take on the operation of chance versus directed thought-experience. I believe that when we operate unconsciously, there are two kinds of unconscious thought-trains that govern our life. One is made up of the automatic 'tapes' that play in our unconscious all the time; placed there by our past judgments about events and inputs involving family, friends, community, and past experiences. This is our life on autopilot, leading wherever our programming is taking us. The other thought train is random noise, like the noise we hear when a radio is tuned partly off the station. This is the random nature of the universe, feeding the element of chance into our daily equation.

In the absence of our clearly directed, conscious decision-making, these two unconscious elements will determine our experience. Since the first element is made up of our past decisions, it will keep our life on a fairly steady and familiar path. In fact, the more we are programmed - the more we live by rote - the less randomness there will be.

It could be argued that this is more like existing than living. The consciously goal-directed human, I suggest, tastes more and gets more out of life.

However, there is always that element of chance that creates an experience in life that we do not expect. And if we are drifting on autopilot, we will not be awake enough to steer quickly back towards our goal. Only when we have gone far off track will we be forced to pay attention.

Maybe we have clear goals in life - maybe not. Maybe we can still reach those goals - maybe not. Autopilot has its risks.