Posts Tagged ‘Fate’

If at first you don’t succeed…

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Today I was out with a friend looking for somewhere to eat.  We went to a local restaurant that we often go to, only to find that it was not only rather full, with people queuing and no bar staff, so we decided we wouldn’t wait.  I made a number of suggestions but we opted to just see what we could find.

The first pub we came to we had both eaten in before, it was ok, but nothing special and again was full of people having Xmas lunches.  We got back in the car.

The next one was completely new to us, it had “Est. 1650” painted on the wall, but was strangely modern inside.  Again it was busy.  The menu seemed ok, but smacked of being over written, and I suspected the reality would not live up to its promise.  Back in the car.

We arrived at a prize winning Asian restaurant… closed!  Brmp, brmp..

We headed homewards, past the first restaurant.  Next stop was a nice new fish and chip emporium which we wanted to try “Sorry we have stopped serving lunch sir”… and on to the Indian next door …Closed!

So at about 2.15 we went into a restaurant that used to be a fire station and had a wonderful spicy pizza… mmmm… just right!

I know it was all rather a palaver  but we did end up in the right place.  Sometimes one just has to say “NO” if it doesn’t feel right and try again.  It can be a bit trying at times, but allowing the Universe to take a hand and listening to one’s inner voice is a good way to surf the waves of Change

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The law of Unforeseen Consequences

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

A doctor in Merthyr Tydfil was running a small scale clinical trial for a large drug company into a drug that was aimed at helping patients with angina (a heart condition). Compound UK-92480 had little efficacy in this area, and he told them so. “By the way,” he mentioned, “I did notice an odd side effect…” And thus born a drug that over 30m men have taken, and is now mentioned in 15% of all spam! It is ironic to note that its impact on the heart is altogether different that that which was intended!

There are many stories of breakthroughs that occurred by accident. There are many events that give rise to unforeseen consequences, some good, some not so good. It is enough to make you wonder if God has a sense of humour.

We often curse when things don’t work out, but I wonder how often new stop and say “Thanks!” to the Big G when we get an unexpected or even undeserved leg-up. I have to say, I try to always make a point of offering a cosmic thank-you.

On this beautiful sunny, perfect English May day, I wish you a little luck…

“Luck affects everything; let your hook always be cast; in the stream where you least expect it, there will be a fish” Ovid

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The Power of FREE!

Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Sarah Arrow, a voracious reader, kindly brought this blog to my attention, which is well worth a read, and basically talks about the slightly irrational way we react to things marked as “Free“. Now we know in today’s world, there is no such thing as a free lunch, but this doesn’t stop us being ensnared by this magic formula “Free“. Here is a small extract of the piece:-

“Imagine you are in the market for an Amazon gift certificate. Consider which of these two offers you would go for (try to do it quickly):

  • A $10 gift certificate for FREE!
  • A $20 gift certificate costing $7.

If your first instinct is the same as absolutely everyone in a study carried out by Shampan’er and Ariely (2006) you’ll take the first option, the free option. Economically, though, this doesn’t make any sense. When you look at it you can see that the $20 gift certificate is actually better value: you actually get a $13 gift certificate for free, but this is camouflaged by the question. That word ‘free’ just shakes all rationality out of us.”

The word has a great deal of power in other areas too. Think about the attraction of idea of being unfettered, burdened by no responsibilities, your deeds having no consequences, cheating Fate, being Free! How many times do you here this line in dramas “I just need to be free!” Of course one reason for its seductive power is that we all know that it simply is a fantasy.

We are (relatively) free to choose our actions, but the consequences are generated by the Universe. At times it might feel like a giant game of Snakes & Ladders, where we patiently wait our turn, throw the dice, march forward a few steps then wait again. Of course, occasionally we find a ‘ladder’ and jump up a level, and then somehow contrive to sabotage ourselves and slide down our own personal ‘snake’.

I guess one of the markers of being an adult is taking responsibility for our actions, and accepting the consequences for our choices. If there seem to be a few too many ‘snakes’ in your life at present then maybe this is a good time to make some different choices and see if they work for you. I wish you luck and hope you roll a 6!

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein

“The truth shall make you free, but first it shall make you angry”

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