Chain Reaction

The concept of 'the butterfly effect' is really interesting to me- the fact that a small action can trigger a number of major consequences. The reason it's so interesting to me is that we often finding ourselves asking the question 'What if?' And in our heads, we then plot out a final result which veers away from what actually happened. For instance- 'IF James took that bus today then he'd be dead', or 'IF only I'd met her before then we would've been together for much longer', or 'IF I'd left 10 minutes earlier then I would've made it to work 10 minutes earlier'.

The problem with that question is that in asking it, we generally assume that one item in a chain of events can change without affecting those which follow it...

My sister and I were watching TV in the living room when my father came home. It was probably between 4 and 5 p.m., and it was strange to see him home so early. He came in, greeted us in his usual way, and then dropped himself in the couch. He looked tired and beat up, but I made nothing of it. My mother came out of the kitchen, and instantly realized something was wrong. As it turned out, my father was coming from the scene of an accident. He and a friend were heading to (of all places) a funeral. He was driving. The road was wet and the car skidded off, and into a ditch. The poor little Swift ended up top-down, with the back half of it crushed by a boulder. They survived by inches.

I remember playing the event in my head over and over, especially after I saw what was left of the car (not much). All I could think was, 'My father came so close to dying.' But here's the real twist- a third person was suppose to be in the car. At the last minute he decided he would not be going with them. Of course, the next natural thought is 'If he'd gone with them he'd have been crushed to death!'

But I dare to propose that, had he gone, it's quite possible there would have been no accident. If he had gone, maybe Daddy would have left later, or maybe having the extra person in the car would have caused them to drive faster, or slower... Hell, maybe the road would have been dry by the time they got there. The point is, his inclusion in the equation would have very likely affected more than just saving his life.

What does all this means? Well, the only thing I can think of is that we must (try to) train ourselves to be quick in accepting that the past could have happened no other way. 'What if' is a waste of time.