...Future

One of my recent scrolling sessions on the Facebook unearthed some “random shower thoughts memes”. They ranged from silly musings on blockbuster movies to exposing uncomfortable truths that many don’t (or are afraid to) acknowledge. One meme dealing with time travel caught my eye and has been stuck there ever since. Let me describe it to you.

Think of any time travel story you’ve read/watched/listened to. There’s always a strong caution that even the slightest interruption in the past can make a huge change to the future. Making someone late, sitting on a spider, not lifting the toilet seat – all could possibly “create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space time continuum and destroy the entire universe!” (to quote Doc Brown from Back to the Future).

This “shower thought” meme pointed out that time travel warning, but then dropped the bomb about how we often disregard the notion that “small” decisions and actions that we make/take can have a huge impact on the future! If we believe it about the past, we ought to believe it about the future.

This caused me to think of the decisions I’ve made in recent years and how they’ve taken me to where I am now. Overall, I’ve realized that my life could be drastically different than it is now. Five years ago, I had been debating a move to a different job or going to grad school – this was occupying most of my brainpower for several months. Then on the day after Christmas, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Learning that a glioblastoma had grown in my dad’s brain brought any and all of those previous thoughts to an immediate halt. Over the next few days and the continuing months, I spent more time than ever with my parents, brothers and their families. We made trips to the mountains, to national parks, and spent precious time at home.

This time was incredibly valuable for our family and helped us make the most of what was left of our dad’s time on earth. While there’s much more I could speak about this experience, I will say here that it definitely reset my decision-making timeline and criteria. I reevaluated where I wanted to be personally and professionally and the next year headed off to Cornell for a master’s program. That choice was one of the tougher decisions I’ve had to make – and I had to make it without the input of my personal Chairman of the Board (a position my dad held for my whole life). I was very, very – and I mean very – close to selecting a different school for my graduate degree. That would have taken me down a different path to a different state and likely to a different company and different friends met along the way. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, but just thinking about how markedly different my life would be frankly kinda gives me the willies…

I’ll also say that many other decisions I’ve made have had huge impacts on where I’ve been and who I am. From a religious perspective, the time I spent in youth programs, the two years I served as a missionary, and the volunteer positions I’ve held in local congregations have shaped my character and who I’ve connected with. They’ve guided me to lifelong friends and opportunities to bless other’s lives.  

With different seemingly small decisions, life as I know it now would be unrecognizable. I’m glad that all else aside, I’ve followed my father’s example of living a life where I can influence work, family, church, and community. What “small” decisions will I make next that will have a big impact on the future?