Schrodinger’s cat

Erwin Schrodinger is one of the few great minds behind the quantum field theory. One of his works which sparked intrigue is the idea of ‘superposition’. To demonstrate this idea, he carried out a little thought experiment: He placed a cat inside a cardboard box. Along it is a timer, that could go off at any random moment and release a poison with the potential to kill the feline inside the box. The moment the cat is inside the box with the timer, there is no way of telling whether or not the cat is still alive. Thus, we can say that the cat is in ‘superposition’ – that is, a point in space and time where it is both dead and alive at the same time.

Most people fear the unknown. Most people fear uncertainty. Maybe that’s why many do their best to plan out their lives, following blueprints from their predecessors as if it’s already that fool-proof of a plan – yet the uncertainty never really goes away. Most people play safe. They think that by following rules, going after dream after dream, and doing what they think they’re supposed to be doing (as based on societal conditioning), they’ll eventually find contentment – that they’ll eventually stop chasing.

Don’t get me wrong, there is valuable wisdom in the words of the ones who came before, but as the world is changing, some of the values we were taught has become increasingly difficult to apply. The arena changes with time, what was true then does not necessarily mean it's true now, and the players (our generation) constantly have to adjust to stay updated of the changes, while relearning and unlearning what our forerunners did or didn’t do in order to keep up with the game. 

Sometimes, it’s manageable. Most times, it gets utterly tiring and confusing.

That’s what I and some dearly beloved friends right now are going through. Is it quarter-life crisis perhaps? Maybe it is, for some. We’re all facing the unknown-- all of us. Our state is somewhat similar to being paralyzed while walking on a wire above thousands of rabbit holes. It’s as if one small move could end us up into a dramatically different life.

But while staying frozen with fear is a choice, putting one foot forward and diving right in despite the overwhelming fear is also a choice. A wise woman once told me that she’d rather live her life taking the pain of each failure or each rejection in going for what she wants instead of being haunted by the chances she didn’t take: the regrets, “what could have been”s and the “what if”s.

The choice maker is us. It has always been us. No amount of societal conditioning (what our parents would say, what our friends would say, what our colleagues and teachers and mentors would say) would ever amount to anything if we let it. We are the creators of our own criteria, we get to choose what our values are, what our priorities are, what aspects of our life are important to us, what kind of life we want – not our mentors, not our parents, not our friends, not our siblings, not our teachers – us. You. Me. Each of us. 

But do be beware though, that whatever decision we make, we will be the main receiver of the consequences of our choices, not them. That’s what I’ve recently learned in the process of entering adulthood. It’s at this time that we are to step up and take responsibility for our choices and actions.

Take risks. Take calculated risks. Pull yourself together and open that box, because my dear, life is too short to stay in superposition all the time.

Have faith, and let your faith be greater than your fear.

P. S.

I’m really just posting this to cope with the anxiety I’m experiencing with the coming storm of events I have to face this May. And yes, in case you're wondering, I hate being in superposition.

Good luck Roxanne Marie and friends.

Hoping to be as gritty as this kitty after May