The Dichotomy of Free Will


The two words that are favorite amongst the young and the restless in the brave new world are 'free will', the panacea to solve all the world's problems. The phrase is less understood beyond the attraction of our right to choose and act with free will.

Wikipedia says ' Free will is closely linked to the concepts of responsibility, praise, guilt, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actions that are freely chosen.'

Concept of Free-will was nicely touched in the movie 'Bruce Almighty', where God (the amazing Morgan Freeman) hands over the powers of God to Bruce (the super Jim Carrey) with only two conditions. First he can tell no one that he is God, the second one is more intriguing  'you can't mess with free will', even GOD does not or cannot mess with free will. (https://youtu.be/6et2ZSodS0g)
It's definitely worth a watch if have not it yet. It rings so true to our lives, where we ignore all advise, guidance, messages, warnings at the alter of free will and then crib about our quality of life. We don't want to invest in the process but desire the fine results. Desire the results because we know we have it in us to do all or achieve what we envision as our just future, only if fate would play its part.

It takes time to understand it's not fate, mate. It's you and your daily choices that decide or seal your fate. It's your harvest.
Source : https://www.livescience.com/19213-free-fate.html


There is  an interesting para in 'First Things First' by Stephen Covey. I quote
"Independent will is our capacity to act. It gives us the power to transcend our paradigms, to swim upstream, to rewrite our scripts, to act based on principle rather than reacting based on emotion or circumstance. While environmental or genetic influences may be very powerful, they do not control us. We're not victims. We're not product of our past. we are product of our choices. we are 'response-able' - able to respond, to choose beyond our moods and tendencies. We have will power to act on self-awareness, conscience, and vision."

Let me get back to the original topic, 'free will' in the modern world. Free will is assumed by some to be a right to act without societal protocols. Do that as long as they don't interfere with someone else's free will. Understand the basic principle of nature that thou shall reap what you sow, same is true for the other person acting as per his or her free will. YOU have no role in their  results; you shall reap what you choose to do as result of the 'free will' granted to you, so shall they.

Same free will has created persons of honour and the also lowest of human kind. It's choices they made. So make yours wisely. Given below are the wide spectrum that this 'free will' creates. Everyone to his own, we probably would do well to put effort to choose where we fall in the spectrum.

Source : https://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/book-review-free-will-the-basics/

Another aspect that holds us down is regret, regret about past mistakes or missed chances. Who has not felt regret. I recall Baba Ramdev saying somewhere how regrets overpower our energies as we age, more memories and hence a bigger baggage to overcome. Who has not made mistakes? Reminds one of Mathew West song 'Hello my name is regret'. Regret is good if it helps you improve, maybe make amends. Its such a waste of time if it breaks your will to fight it. Treat a mistake as a happening, all it needs is for you to move on. Wise ones learn with each mistake while the less than wise repeat the same mistakes and hope for better results.

Free will is granted so that you may break the mould, too many complain against THE mould. 'I can't do this, I can't do that variety'; blame or excuse about parentage, schooling, financial freedom, work space, health issues and so on. Free will is to break open any imaginary barriers that you or society creates around you. It also empowers you to write your own destiny, so use it well.

Source : http://existentialcomics.com/comic/other/6



Roopesh Mehta
23 Dec 18

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This is an effort to understand a contemporary subject both to clear my mind and to seek comments. Maybe it will lead to a discussion that helps me understand it all better.  

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