Dwelling in possibility

It was not very unconventional to go to the market and enjoy the variety of items displayed before— whether fruits, vegetables or even shoes or crockery or clothes or branded cars, telephones and sweets all around in sweet-shops. I used to enjoy the music CD and Cassettes, electronic gadgets also; but now, they have become the items of antique piece. One of the shops at Park Street, the Music World, has gone into the black hole― the day CD and Cassettes became superseded by youtube. When one goes to the market, one finds latest and nothing but latest of items of everything and everywhere. Take for example biscuits, so many types and so many sizes are available that one gets bewilders which one to buy and which one to be left out. They look so tempting and delicious that one can’t resist oneself for having a taste of it. But often it happens that after having a taste of them one cannot enjoy it second time. They have good packaging, good outlook, beautiful mixing of ingredient, but one finds in many such cases, one regrets for wasting money but still one cannot opt out of the alternatives given. Our life seems to be full of uncontrolled and multi-furcated branches of possibility that has infiltrated into our mind’s framework. To begin with the houses' walls, window-frames, ceilings, furniture, food items, clothes, boxes—small-big of different shapes and sizes etc. which are ready to quench our thirst and avalanche of dreams of utility purposes? One goes beyond the wonder worlds.

 

Two of my sisters do the same, when they go to the market they bring so many pieces of cloth of different colours and texture, and sometimes they buy readymade good looking dresses and dress-materials too. But once they enter home... some of those choices they made, seem inconsequential to them. They want to pass them off to someone because they could not relish the colour or material …and sometimes they find sizes are too short or too long that they cannot accommodate themselves within these outfits, so they want to get rid of. There is an old phrase that goes like this: ‘The map is not the territory’—a map is not the actual terrain we traverse.

The possibility — anything can happen— seems so deliciously exciting to me that I watch my sisters’ action and discussion and sometimes irritation, when they cannot get rid of the items immediately. Every time I warned them to be careful but they repeat the same mistake impulsively on the pretext that the shopkeeper is very old and known to them …and he expects them to buy something or other!! Sometimes they say he has shown us too many materials that we were obliged to buy something… or we were feeling embarrassed that we did not buy anything after struggling for an hour ... or we are his regular customer … and many more excuses in their defense, they put forward.  My sister searches for comfortable shoes but every time she brings uncomfortable shoes, and then it becomes the historic piece in our shoe-rack!!! The other sister brings ready-made outfit but unfortunately they never fit her. And after that what happens? The search begins for the beneficiary who can be put into that dress / shoes so that she can gift that person with good gesture. Is it not like some countries’ foreign policy that they deliver their garbage to Indian shore or city on the pretext that India can recycle them? But, the gift of my loving sister, none can refuse on any alleged reason. In all Good Will both of them look for genuine prospect to gift them and relieve off their burden. And after that they venture for another voyage.

It is true that it happens to almost all of us … The most common one is the inevitable struggle between the “what if?” or “yeah but…” scenario of so much possibilities, and the more we listen to that fear-based voice, the longer we make some false assumptions. And that small gap belongs to our mind wherein the conversation, the opportunity lies. But at the end of the day, in our hands lie the possibility—a big IF…THEN

IF I do this then that? IF I say this then what?

IF I ask this then what? IF I explore this then where?

IF I am this then why? IF I try this then how?

IF these are the possibilities then which one to choose?

 

And one decision, one moment changes everything.

 

I usually enjoy their exchange or parting off with new clothes. Their point is, that item must not enter into their wardrobe. Marketing is their pastime and sometimes stress buster too, I think. But it is not true always, it is alluring too. The market offers too much alternatives and variety that one becomes confused and amazed of its glittering glow. Many do the same with phones also. Everyday a new kind of phone is available in the market with all the upgraded system, such that one refuses to use the old one and gets tempted to buy the upgrade one.

So, our life is now somehow about dwelling in possibilities!!!

I remember, at our tender age we have one school uniform of single white colour (if it is a colour at all) and we could not afford to have fancy dresses to attend the picnic party or even marriage party. Often our chances were ruled out to attend such event. Once we all sisters, in spite of all mental resistance, went for hopping Puja Pandals in school uniform! Oh God!! Heavenly clouds broke upon us when we met one of our friends in the same crowd.   

 

In a world rife with information, News becomes possible product rather than an objective window of the world. Most of us watch TV shows where adherents of all parties talk about their view point, facts are utterly irrelevant to them. Only my view point is there whether they identify as Left, Right, or anything in between. Journalists are nothing but story tellers. Undeniably, news is written by human reporters with certain inherent biasness, with their deeply rooted unshackled accumulated beliefs which sway our judgement in spite of being objective. All of them are struggling with possibilities… Isn’t that amazing and weird all at the same time with possible undertone?  

In Logic, where possibility implies the absence of a contradiction— as ‘that which either is or will be true’ and ‘that which is not prevented by anything from happening even if it does not happen’, changes our relationship to inner blocks by getting deep insights into our true need and hidden purposes. With possibility labs one needs to enrich the little gaps, little shafts of light that suggest something else we never have explored and facilitates our transcendence to many avenues.

Thus, it is true that there are several advantages of having two eyes instead of one. It gives a wider field of view. A human being has horizontal field of view of about 150 with one eye and about 180 with two eyes. The ability to detect faint object is, of course, enhanced with two detectors instead of one. Thus, we have a pair of eyes than one single eye. What would have happen if we have thousand eyes (sahasrāksha) like in our mythical story of Indra― one would perhaps struggle with possibilities? Or have comprehensive outlook.

But when it comes to decision making, our hidden unconscious biases and prejudices begins functioning.  Climate Change is one such example. We all know it is happening, but we fail to act on it on our daily decisions.

So Leibnitz begins his argument which although is conceded to God, but don’t worry my atheist friends!! It has nothing to do with Almighty God. He also had the idea of infinitely many Universes. But He can only choose one universe from the infinite amount of possible universes. Only one of these universes can actually exist. God's choices are subject to the Principle of Sufficient reason, that is, God has reason to choose one thing or another. He makes decisions based on reason and concludes that the existing world (chosen by God) is the best. Evil is the absence of good and exists in the same ways like the hole of a donut exists. The donut was created, but one would never say the hole itself was made; it was just never filled in. This also means there cannot be evil without more good, as you can never have the hole in the donut without having donut around it. 

Out of all the possibilities, God chose the very best world. Our universe becomes actual not because God or anything else made it so but because it literally lifted itself out of non-existence and made itself actual. Weird? Yes. After all, an extraordinary philosophical question might just require an extraordinary answer. So when our scientists talk about “Multi-verse” then there's nothing special about the entire visible Universe. Many other disconnected Universes, which may or may not be similar to the Universe we inhabit, exist. That entire structure encapsulates our observable Universe as a small part of a larger Universe that extends beyond the limits of our observations. The different universes within the Multi-verse are called “parallel universe”, “other universe”. “alternate universe” or “many worlds”, which have been hypothesized in cosmology, physics, astronomy, religion, philosophy, transpersonal psychology, music, and all kinds of literature, particularly in science fiction, comic books and fantasy. The actual world together with the infinite number of possible but non-actual worlds constitutes the realm of “possible worlds” with unexecuted plans.

So here goes the awkward dance between possibilities and hardnosed reality within. Friends!!! Have you seen this tension play out? You want to live a life of passion and reason, your dreams and reality but you are caught between the horns of a dilemma—do or not to do. The little voice inside might be whispering or screaming, “Yeah, but… I have to eat and survive Or Yeah, but…. I don’t even know what my zeal and intention is Yeah…. seen through the lens of Possibility … I’m stuck …”

Indeed we dwell in possibilities, but amidst all possibilities there is the Real One, which disguises itself as one of the possibilities, and lo, we are possibly distracted!!!