I’m reading Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges and one of the short stories stood out to me. Lottery in Babylon tells the story of how the lottery system came to fruition. How it started from people receiving goods in exchange for other goods, then it grew into people taking on the risk of going to prison, losing appendages, and dying.
It brings up an idea of The Company – a possibly omnipotent entity that is ever present in every world occurrence. By the end of the story, the narrator says basically “Who knows what is and isn’t up to chance? Maybe every bird song, every decision you make, and anything else is just another part of another bet in the lottery.”
What’s interesting is the idea of chance. Without chance, life would be boring.
Imagine every time you started a business, you knew it’d end up successful. How would you feel if every new hobby you picked up was simple and you never had to practice?
Maybe it sounds pretty rad at first. It would be cool for a little while, but eventually you’d probably be asking “What’s the point?”
We enjoy trying new things because usually there is some form of risk involved. With everything we do there’s going to be some backlash to face, obstacles to overcome, and problems to solve. These are what make life interesting.
When everything runs smoothly, you don’t grow. When everyone supports you, you stop trying as hard. When you feel there’s no risk of failure, it’s not as exciting.
So let challenges come. Let chance make your life interesting. With every obstacle you face, be grateful for another opportunity to learn and grow.
January 31, 2022
