Just A Wine-Induced Ramble
Not that I've had a lot of wine (just a second glass), but it's enough.
So, today I was out for a run. Man, it was hot. I forgot how the sun can really sap one's strength.
As I running, I saw a full page of newspaper ahead of me on the side of the road. I've been studying existentialism lately, which tells us that a person is the sum total of his/her actions -- not thoughts, beliefs, etc. An action is the actualization of a belief.
In any case, I convinced myself that I had to pick up that piece of paper, crumple it in my fist, and carry it with me until I found a garbage can. There was other garbage around, but this was the piece I had dedicated myself to, and I hoped others would do the same.
I ran with my refuse.
So . . . an eighth of a mile later, what do I find? On the shoulder of the road, I found a Verizon cell phone charger that plugs into a cigarette lighter. I always run with my cell phone (a Verizon), so I tried plugging the charger into it . . . just for laughs.
It fit! Not only that, the damn thing works. I don't have a cigarette lighter charger of my own, so this find was a real boon.
This is my question. Was this Karma or coincidence? Was I being rewarded for my altruistic action. Of course, an existentialist would say no.
What would you say?
So, today I was out for a run. Man, it was hot. I forgot how the sun can really sap one's strength.
As I running, I saw a full page of newspaper ahead of me on the side of the road. I've been studying existentialism lately, which tells us that a person is the sum total of his/her actions -- not thoughts, beliefs, etc. An action is the actualization of a belief.
In any case, I convinced myself that I had to pick up that piece of paper, crumple it in my fist, and carry it with me until I found a garbage can. There was other garbage around, but this was the piece I had dedicated myself to, and I hoped others would do the same.
I ran with my refuse.
So . . . an eighth of a mile later, what do I find? On the shoulder of the road, I found a Verizon cell phone charger that plugs into a cigarette lighter. I always run with my cell phone (a Verizon), so I tried plugging the charger into it . . . just for laughs.
It fit! Not only that, the damn thing works. I don't have a cigarette lighter charger of my own, so this find was a real boon.
This is my question. Was this Karma or coincidence? Was I being rewarded for my altruistic action. Of course, an existentialist would say no.
What would you say?
posted by Jeff Vande Zande at 8:59 PM
2 Comments:
Coincidence. Nothing happens for any reason except that we make it happen. Probability and chance are the real forces in the world, and they are the greates existentialists of them all. Nothing drives them. They just are. You could just as easily have left the paper on the ground, and you would still have found the charger. And your hands would have been cleaner. No newsprint.
In practical terms, I have to agree with Denise. In the mystical terms of writing fiction (even skeptical fiction that gives chaos its due), it's much more interesting that you picked up the newspaper.
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