The Butterfly Effect

Monday, January 25, 2010

Posted by Radhika

When often reminiscing, I stop to think of some turning points in my life. I wonder that if those red dots in my lifeline represented different decisions, how would the pattern of my life be today. Often decisions that we take in life lead to subsequent actions which determine the graph of our life - rightly called The Butterfly Effect.

The Butterfly Effect is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial dependence in chaos theory; the small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behaviour.

Not so much a believer in fate, I believe that it is our own actions that lead us to where we are and the key reasons being those very strategic decisions that we choose, determine our path from thereon. Important decisions thus should have a logical and thoughtful base as that moment might just be like a flutter of the butterfly's wings that would affect the following moments that may change the course of one's life. Example: You marry the wrong guy, you continue to lead an average life that may detoriate over a period of time, you complain about sacrificing your dreams and have unfulfilled wishes, you become cynical and frown at the world, you look back to wonder what led you to be a victim and then when you manage to get some courage it is too late or you have commitments that you cannot ignore. And thus the pattern of life continues.. right?

Well.. You can make this a wrong. Maybe once we start realising that there is a fault in the system its time to start overwriting that strategic decision. Its important to amend the mistakes and explore ways to override the subsequent effects. That one decision can again help in the Butterfly Effect that may see the graph soaring high again so that the blue skies and green grass reappears.

Try taking a grip of your life.. its yours after all..!