With the house to ourselves at last, pillows were plumped, we busted out the microwave popcorn; we raided the fridge and pantry for ice-cream and chocolate… have never quite figured out why the house human insists on putting the chocolate on the top shelf where he thinks it’s out of reach – he knows we’ll get it eventually.
Because the house human is not very trusting of us, all the good X rated DVD’s and liquor are locked away and we are left with little more than red cordial and the most boring of films to watch. Honestly how many times can you possibly watch Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer or Daniel Craig as James Bond and still get excited by it? Really.
Much to our pleasant surprise it appears that it was our lucky night when we discovered a few new films somehow managed to get worked into the mix. Amongst the mix of new movies was story of Erin Brockovich. I won’t go in to the story-line because if you haven’t seen it then it will ruin it, and if you have seen it, I’ll just bore you more than normal.
Any way as the movie progressed we began to discuss the ‘what if’ concept of Erin Brockovich. You know the sort of thing, the stuff that could tie you mind up in knots if you let it; what if she wasn’t looking for work; what if she didn’t stop for that cigarette; what if she wasn’t in that accident; what if she didn’t talk her way in to a job with that law firm; what if she was considered one of the girls; what if someone else had opened the file; what if she was not curiously obsessed with a pro bono case; what if she didn’t have a mind of her own and did what she was told, what if she wasn’t motivated etc. etc. Then we guessed there would have been no David and Goliath story, no-one would have taken up the cause for the contaminated community, and possibly no-one would have heard of Erin Brockovich. Would she still be a divorced mother of three with no job, or would destiny have found another way for her to be what she ultimately became?
We have often heard our house human remark that ‘everything happens for a reason’ and ‘everything has a purpose – and no matter how small or insignificant something may first appear, it may be the thing that changes the world-’. The thought of ‘purpose’ and the ‘what if’s’ of Erin Brockovich’s destiny got us thinking about our own places in the world, our purpose, and ultimately our own destiny.
So if we moved beyond the realm of reality, and if we weren’t toys, what sort of incredible things could we achieve? Could we bring about world peace, feed the world or discover an environmentally friendly and renewable source of energy. Like humans we too could achieve greatness. We could be lawyers, doctors, astronauts, movie stars, singers, writers, poets, millionaires and magnates. We could be famous, have our own character franchise like movie stars do. You know the sort of stuff; lunch boxes, books, water bottles; party things; dolls in our likeness. Arr, hang about, we’re already toys! Does this mean humans actually aspire to be like us… toys? Interesting thought that one.
Let’s face it, no matter who or what we are, we all aspire to be something other than our own mundane selves, and I dare say those of us who are great aspire to be something other than that. Perhaps when I reach greatness, I can tell you what I aspire to next.
Anyway, after our philosophical discussion about the ‘what if’s’ (not regrets) that lasted for some considerable time, we decided to put ourselves in Erin Brockovich’s shoes and asked ourselves the question: Could any of us have been Erin Brockovich if the exact same conditions and circumstances were applied?
The answer was no.
It was decided by majority rule that the ‘what if’ of destiny is a unique set of circumstances attached to a particular person and to a particular point in time. Even with the same environment and circumstances the outcome would not be the same - quite simply because we were not Erin Brockovich and it was not our destiny-. It was also decided the point in time itself was a critical juncture that had the power to delay a person’s destiny, or prompt them to follow a new path while delivering the same or similar outcome eventually.
To test if destiny was indeed preordained we attempted an experiment using the Sims 3 – a computer game favoured by the house human. We created a person (excuse me Sims Creators, if you read this please note not everyone that plays your games is human and we would appreciate if you would throw in the occasional bear related feature), gave the person some traits such as clumsy, daredevil, loves the outdoors etc., and gave them a place to live. We then set about wreaking havoc and doing some fairly funky stuff until we finally found what we were looking for… DEATH.
The first time our Sim died, he was burnt in a fire (only because he wasn’t a real good cook), once he was well and truly cooked we exited the game without saving and had another go at life. The next time we decided our Sim should eat out rather than attempting to cook, thereby avoiding the possibility of becoming a crispy critter. Did this stop death from leaving a calling card? No. Poor little Sims3 man got electrocuted instead.
Each time we exited the game without saving, and each time we played with our Sim we would avoid the set of circumstances that lead to his death. Much to our excitement, our little friend would somehow find another new and exciting way to die. There was no saving him.
While we may never know what it is that changes the course of a person’s history, what it is that prompts a person to turn left instead of right at a critical juncture, or what it is that makes someone more famous than another, it is important to understand that we all have different opportunities in life. We can’t just sit back and wait thinking destiny will find us sooner or later. We should all be looking for our ‘what if’ opportunity all the time.
Our house human may be a pain in the bum from time to time, but every now and then he says something somewhat intelligent. Perhaps he’s right ‘everything happens for a reason’ and ‘everything has a purpose – no matter how small or insignificant something may first appear, it may be the thing that changes the world-’.
Just as there can only be one Lady Ga Ga, one John Barrowman, one Kate Bush and one George Michael, there can only be one of you. Are you the thing that will change the world? Don’t wait for destiny to find you. Find it. Grab it by the balls and squeeze it so tight it screams. You may not be able to avoid the inevitable but you can certainly make your mark and have fun doing it while you wait.
If destiny is and always will be preordained, then I will never be anything more than 8 inches of bear trying to change the world.
Until next time
Big Hugs & Best Wishes
Theodore H. Bear
