*Caution: Spoilers*
If you had a choice between following a plan that everyone told you would make you happy in ways that were known, or following the one thing that made you feel alive and could possibly make you happy in ways that were unknown, which would you choose?
What if it meant giving up something as noble as being president of the United States?
What if one path allowed you to rewrite the plan?
What if the Chairman allows us to rewrite the plan by creating new paths?
What if you couldn't know whether you had made the correct decision until after you had made it? What if it's not possible to know that you made the right decision even then?
What if it's not possible to go back?
What if you couldn't make a decision to go against the plan without becoming angry at the people who execute the plan? Or worse, without becoming an angry person?
What if you suddenly learned there was a different way to turn a doorknob? And that it revealed a different outcome. Could you go the rest of your life without trying it? Or would that knowledge forever nag at you until you had to find out for yourself what was behind that door?
What if you've been turning doorknobs one way your entire life? Could you learn to turn them the other way? Or would it always feel "wrong?"
What if free will *is* the plan?
What is the role of chance in our lives? How can we tell the difference between chance and fate?
What if following the plan meant living in denial of the thing you love?
Which is the path of least regret? Which is the path that will teach you the most about yourself? Which is the path that will teach you most about the Chairman?
What would the people think of you if you started turning doorknobs the other way? Would you always wonder what they were really thinking? Would you always be looking over your shoulder as you turned? Could you live with their judgments, perceived of real?
What if you knew following the plan would mean that you would question it for the rest of your life? Would you be able to follow it anyway?
What if you were tired? Or bored. How do you keep those things from affecting your decisions?
What if following the plan made you angry at the Chairman or caused you to question his mercy?
Would it be easier to turn the doorknob a different way if you had someone beside you? Could you be sure that person would stay with you once you crossed into the unknown?
Is it possible to believe in the Chairman while questioning the plan?
What if you question the plan once. Can you ever stop questioning after that?
What would the Chairman do if he were in your shoes?
Is the Chairman learning too? Are the case workers?
What is the value in following a predetermined plan? Is there value in deviating?
Can you deviate without causing "ripples" that affect those around you? Can you ever know the effect your ripples have? Whether your ripples are helpful or harmful?
Is it possible you are just following the plan simply because some old guys in suits are telling you that you should?
What if your choice puts you on the lonelier path?
Does happiness come from following a predetermined plan?
Can happiness really be *yours* if you don't create it for yourself?
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3 comments:
Such important, deep, difficult questions - that everyone must answer for themselves. What an awesome post (especially in light of our lunch conversation today)!
For the last couple of days I have been thinking a lot about what you have said. I am hesitant to comment because I don't know everything but I keep thinking of something a woman said in church last week when she asked her mother how she survived her husband walking out on her. She said everyday she asked herself "What if I give up today and the Savior comes tomorrow."
Hope that isn't out of line but it is all I can think about when I consider you and your decisions.
Adam, You're the first I've seen post anything about this movie, but I was having those same thoughts as I watched it. Really interesting and thought provoking. Another movie that affected me deeply was "Time Traveler's Wife." I related his scenario to mine as a gay married man, and it brought me to tears.
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