Martian Thoughts

Reality is a mess

Reality is a mess. In its chaos, some are tempted to believe that everything happens for a reason. In contrast, others welcome the general state of disorder to accept all that happens as inevitable. Although the stances might appear as opposites, both leave their believers off the hook, unable to alter the world before them.

Both approaches seem oblivious to the more reasonable and complicated – indeed uncomfortable – idea that reality might be the sum of myriad disparate ambitions and intentions. For every human, there are multiple wants and perspectives. For every community, each of its individuals throws these into a collective clash.

When viewed thus, isn’t it incredible that we may get our way from time to time? Isn’t it wondrous that we may love someone who happens to love us back? Isn’t it hard to believe that we may set our differences aside and compromise on significant commitments that we couldn’t tackle in isolation?