The slight changes that can alter life.

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
From world wars to chance meetings, have you ever wondered about what your life might have been like if things hadn't happened the way they did?
Of course it doesn't matter because the past is in the past, but decisions are made everyday by us or others that change the future. It's like walking through a maze, and each turn opens up a whole new set of possibilities.

I remember the "butterfly effect", and how tiny changes somewhere can lead to vastly different outcomes (Choosing a college, a missed train, a spontaneous conversation, saying yes to a date, a job offer declined), and each could be the hinge on which a whole chapter of life swings.

Some of life falls under serendipity, like the discovery of Penicillin, while others may be seemingly insignificant personal moments with surprise outcomes. We may never know how, of if any random choice might change the journey we are on, but it's something to think about.
 

I sometimes wonder what life would have been like had I married Jay, my first serious boyfriend, instead of my abusive ex.

I also wonder what turns life would have taken had I traveled on to England like I’d planned (my ticket was already paid for) instead of staying in the US after I left Australia.
 
Ronni said:
I sometimes wonder what life would have been like had I married Jay, my first serious boyfriend, instead of my abusive ex.

I also wonder what turns life would have taken had I traveled on to England like I’d planned (my ticket was already paid for) instead of staying in the US after I left Australia.
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Ahhh, but you wouldn't have met Ron, and your kids and grandkids may not exist. Even more important, you may not be on this forum, and sorry, but that would be unacceptable.
 

We probably live in a universe where there are infinite possibilities if only "such and such" had happened instead of what did. If one baby was never conceived or never grew up, think of all the things, good and bad, that might not have happened. If one virus had mutated in a different direction... if a brilliant cave man had invented flying machines .... if religion had never occurred to anyone.

Or if that makes you dizzy, think on a smaller scale. If your grandfather and grandmother had never met, think of all your relatives, plus you, who would never exist!
 
Sunny said:
We probably live in a universe where there are infinite possibilities if only "such and such" had happened instead of what did. If one baby was never conceived or never grew up, think of all the things, good and bad, that might not have happened. If one virus had mutated in a different direction... if a brilliant cave man had invented flying machines .... if religion had never occurred to anyone.

Or if that makes you dizzy, think on a smaller scale. If your grandfather and grandmother had never met, think of all your relatives, plus you, who would never exist!
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Yes. Several explanations have been presented to try and explain the weirdness of quantum physics. One of those intriguing theories is MWI (Many World Interpretation), where every quantum event splits into another universe where the alternate happens. I don't understand it all, but it would be fascinating if true.
 
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Everyone focuses on changes we could have made in our lives but there was also much peripheral influence that shaped our lives, some we where never even aware of.

A country at war and implementing a draft is easy to see how outside influence can affect lives. But also consider things like the drunk driver steering back into their own lane so not hitting you, or the hungry bear that stopped to eat some berries as you crossed the path fifty feet away. How about if that night you met your spouse they had decided to stay home? Or you hadn't dropped off a resume and never landed that carreer position?

A great plan or no plan, much of life just happens.
 
Pepper said:
I wish Vietnam never happened, even if that means no hippies or great music. Vietnam the curse of our generation. I learned a lot, but if there were no Vietnam I would have learned other stuff instead.
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The US couldn't have avoided taking military action in Vietnam. We were committed to it 2 decades before it even started because of The Truman Doctrine, which was announced after WWII and pledged American support for peaceful nations under threat by authoritarian regimes.

The Soviets were trying to overthrow the Vietnam gov't. They'd been successful in China, at the cost of about a million good Chinese citizens who died horrible deaths, and they were planning to take Greece and Turkey the same way. They were going for world domination. It was like the Third Reich all over again.

Because of a couple of Arnold Benedict-type betrayals, the US only managed to keep Soviet-style communism out of south Vietnam, but if they had lost the south, too, it's very likely Russia and China would have attacked the US long ago. There would have been military scrimmages on our own shores at a time when we were low on manpower and money and lots of Americans hated the gov't....prime for a take-over.

I understand most Americans hated it and still do, but things could have gone very badly here if we hadn't gotten involved over there.
 
bobcat said:
Ahhh, but you wouldn't have met Ron, and your kids and grandkids may not exist. Even more important, you may not be on this forum, and sorry, but that would be unacceptable.
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Awww @bobcat that’s so sweet! ❤️

That’s what I keep going back to! In spite of the sorrow in my life, I enjoy where I am now. I wouldn’t have those good things if I’d taken a different path!
 
One day my father asked me to return a rented movie for him before I went to eat pizza. I didn't want to but I did it. It fixed it so I took a different road to the pizza place which was on the highway. If I hadn't taken his movie I would've been on the highway coming toward the semi truck that jack knifed in the road minutes before I got there on the other road.
 
bobcat said:
From world wars to chance meetings, have you ever wondered about what your life might have been like if things hadn't happened the way they did?
Of course it doesn't matter because the past is in the past, but decisions are made everyday by us or others that change the future. It's like walking through a maze, and each turn opens up a whole new set of possibilities.

I remember the "butterfly effect", and how tiny changes somewhere can lead to vastly different outcomes (Choosing a college, a missed train, a spontaneous conversation, saying yes to a date, a job offer declined), and each could be the hinge on which a whole chapter of life swings.

Some of life falls under serendipity, like the discovery of Penicillin, while others may be seemingly insignificant personal moments with surprise outcomes. We may never know how, of if any random choice might change the journey we are on, but it's something to think about.
Click to expand...
No. I never do. Im too busy with the present.
 
Most often we never know whether the choices we make will alter our life in any meaningful way, but sometimes they do. What if the Titanic's captain had heeded the iceberg warnings and changed course or speed.

I don't know much about them, but some people can have premonitions about things. Somehow their subconscious, or whatever it is, can pick up on things. Is it intuition, or coincidence, or something deeper? Who knows. Maybe there are ripples in time that we don't understand.

I think sometimes twins who have a close connection can sense things that may be affecting the other even without communication. Sometimes I think of quantum physics and how you can change a spin on one of paired particles and instantly the other changes, no matter how far they are separated. It reminds me that we don't understand all there is to know about reality.
 
I was preparing for a flight from D.C. to San Francisco when my Supervisor called and asked if I could do a second flight from SFO down to San Diego. I told my boss, Sure, whatever he needed me to do. When I got to San Diego, the Supervisor was there and I was handed my gold wings, which meant at that time I had been promoted to Captain. I was really surprised. It felt good to sit in the left seat on my next flight home back to D.C.

For any First Officer it’s a big deal to be promoted to Captain. It opened up a whole world for me. My goal was to be the best Captain at United. I loved flying and I really enjoyed keeping my passengers safe and giving them as good of a ride as the skies let me.
 
After my wife passed away, I got involved with an on line grief recovery chat room. I noticed one lady there who was very caring. One day she asked me where in the world I lived. Well, it turned out she lived 40 miles from me.
I asked if she would like to meet half way for lunch, and she finally agreed. One lunch led to another.... we were married on the Island of Santorini in 2007.
 
I think the more adventurous one is, the more surprises life may have in store. I remember a quote that often comes to mind for me:
"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for". It's been a reminder that those who have the courage to venture are often surprised by what they find.
 

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