August 2004 Part I

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So I have been watching this TV show, this Chinese soap. It's about this couple who are for the most part perfect for one another, but they don't realize it both at the same time. I'm not sure what's going to happen next; I'm not sure if I want to know. Watching their romantic struggles makes me wonder if they reflect our way of life; we could have already met that perfect someone who has brushed past, and 10 years later heads will be banging thinking of the what-ifs.

And I was talking to a friend about horoscopes the other day. She started out by asking me whether or not I believe in them. Half and half, I said. On the one hand, folks at church preach that horoscopes are an occult art and in God they will not prevail. On the other hand, horoscopes can be seen as just generalizations on life. Much like a prophecy of "today you shall awake, eat, and go to sleep" will not apply to everyone, it will become true for most. So, while I ingest horoscopes with a grain of salt, I don't doubt their ability to serve as reminders on life. Having said this much, rarely do I go and seek horoscopes of any kind, but if I flip open the paper and there they are, I would read them.

And there has been much talk about fate. So, I'll round out this post with a discussion on what I think it's all about. Define fate to be the set of events that happen in life over which we have no control. Then, by definition, we cannot control it. But don't they often say "wrest control of your fate"? Well, they don't speak of fate in the same sense as I do; they seem to refer fate to the set of events that happen in life. By definition, my set is completely contained in theirs. And if my set is strictly smaller, then what they say is true. However, to actually prove that my set is smaller must be a super hard problem, and the ramifications of such a proof would be huge. I don't claim to know the answer; I don't even have a clue. But fortunately, we don't have to know everything in life. After all, they say ignorance is bliss; some things are best to be left to God.