On the topic of my parallel universe, you know that our life, our universe, is quite a sad one (or at least it can be). In the (or my as I see it) parallel universe, this sadness still exists, but it is different.

Just imagine any situation that has been painful for you, something you regret (even if it is something you don’t admit regretting), take a deep look at it. In retrospect, think about all causations leading up to that said point. Now, just imagine, as we all must have at some certain point in our lives (especially when we were the saddest) and that in a parallel universe, much like our own, one that’s effects can only be seen and felt on Fridays, that situation worked out for the best. Imagine how much different our lives would be. A wise man once said that there was no such thing as luck, but just better timing.

So, for example, let us pretend that in our universe, Universe A, one of our parents just died in a automobile accident because some jerk ran a red light. In the alter-universe, Universe B, this never happened, because in Universe B, our parent left work a minute early. The reason they were able to leave work early was because in Universe B, Universe B’s parental unit did not get stopped by their boss on the way out the door with an extra workload. Thus in Universe B, they were not running late and in that split second of time before starting off across the street, when the light turned green, the split second one should always take to make sure traffic has completely stopped, and then were not in fact side-swiped by a drunk mechanic in a white, two-ton pick-up truck with the name StevO sewn on his shirt. Imagine how different life would be for the children and family of Universe B if this were true. Timing is everything.

I could plop one hundred dollars in a slot machine, win nothing, and when I run off to get more money to throw in the slot, a little old lady plops in a half dollar and wins a bazillion dollars. In Universe B, this little old lady could have either died already or whatnot, and in Universe B, I would have won that jackpot. It is all down to chance yes, but it is all inevitable too. This is why there really is not luck. Eventually in a game of chance, because there is a chance, one will eventually win, this is all pendent upon timing of the situation. Eventually it becomes a sure thing when there is sufficient time involved.

Forget games of chance or even death, and take relationships for example. This happens everyday. There are too many people claiming too many missed opportunities in life. Many of them are the missed opportunities just to talk to specific people, just to initiate one conversation. There are plenty who always say, and regret, and stew over the fact that they never did talk to that such and such girl. And in that alter-verse, perhaps our alterselves did. What indeed happened to our alterselves? Perhaps they married the guy or girl, perhaps it was just a long romance, perhaps it was a short fling, or perhaps it was just a conversation. But if at the very least, the alterself in Universe B would not spend the rest of his short life saying “what if” in that specific situation.

As I wrote, “specific situation,” I must admit that it is true that the guy or girl in Verse B would too have regrets. They are too human and fallible to make mistakes and too suffer the consequences of missed opportunities, bad timing, as well as they suffer the good. They too lose parents, money, friends, lovers, because their own unique lives similar to our own were off-timed. They too have their sadness as they have their happiness. Fleeting as it may be in both verses, our lives are affected by the simple, yet complex weave of time as we know it. Should or can we really be jealous of that unknown alter life?

So then, what should we make of it all? If it were all true, and by saying such we have made it true, or it does not matter either which way, which Verse would you rather live in? Does it at all matter? If all things past are consequential for all things in the future, then do we dare even do anything at all? But even doing nothing at all has its consequences, which in turn can cause an unfortunate event. So where should we stand? One thing we can learn from the very least of it is that there are many things in life we cannot control due to timing, but of those that we can, at the very least we can do something about those. Of those, at the very least we will not have to regret our indecisions. At least we can hold off on some of the “what if” questions we ponder to ourselves every now and again.

And so, I now leave you all to it. Good timing everyone, and if not, then don’t sweat it too hard. It was probably not your fault anyway. Because Abraham Lincoln sneezed into the face of an immigrant worker, who would have killed the person’s, who made it all bad for you, great grandfather, died of a cold back in 1864.


P.S. — If you do decide to comment, please don’t mention anything about the movie Sliding Doors (which was, yes, very good), because I may scream. Though the movie was good, it is not really the same thing, for both of Helen Quilley’s split alter-character’s started out from the same point in life. Though perhaps this could be true in altering verses—seeing as they are so similar, in the movie, the characters played by Gwyneth eventually spun back into place. They ended in the same role once again, which in a universe full of completely random choices, opportunities, causes, and effects, this is entirely improbable and quite pointless. Either way, I will definitely scream if the movie is mentioned. So please don’t.