Inevitably, it happens to me about every other day.
"Hey, where are you going?" Men ask me this out of their car windows as I walk alongside the road. Guys wearing suits or cashmere roll down the window of their luxury car, nod their head, and ask me. Guys in old Toyotas, with the press-on tint of the windows peeling along the edges, window half down, smile and ask me. Guys hanging out of the windows of the beat up minibuses leer at me and ask me.
Complete strangers expect me to tell them where I'm going.
And, I admit, it is a very good question. Where am I going? Where are any of us going?
Of course, there are those with faith who believe they don't need the answer to that question. Some believe that God will provide the path for them. Others believe the alignment of the stars determines their destiny. Yet others think the patterns of fractals in nature add up to the meaning of the universe (which is, of course, 42).
I believe in that and more: in science, magic, and god, in coincidences and karma. To me, if I believe in the possible existence of one of those, I must believe in the possible existence of them all. Each of them represents, in some way, an unknown and thus, if I put some trust in one of those unknowns, then I feel the need to put some trust in all of them.
At this point, I can imagine some of you who believe in science starting to squirm a little, smirk a bit, and chuckle about how 'cute' I am for thinking science doesn't explain everything. (Why do two quantum electrons always spin opposite ways?) Or maybe some of you with strong religious views are now shaking your head and thinking, "She's so lost." (Well, I do like getting lost, so no surprise there.) I just don't see how believing in one automatically negates the others. There are unexplained, mysterious happenings, past and present, that exist in this world. How do we know which one (or all) of the above will eventually explain and account for the unexplained?
So when strangers ask me, "Hey, where are you going?" I may not have an answer (and I definitely don't get in any stranger's car...anymore), and I may not know what will get me there. But whether it's Harry Potter, Buddha, entanglement or all me, I'm not concerned. I assume I'll get there eventually.
At this point, I can imagine some of you who believe in science starting to squirm a little, smirk a bit, and chuckle about how 'cute' I am for thinking science doesn't explain everything. (Why do two quantum electrons always spin opposite ways?) Or maybe some of you with strong religious views are now shaking your head and thinking, "She's so lost." (Well, I do like getting lost, so no surprise there.) I just don't see how believing in one automatically negates the others. There are unexplained, mysterious happenings, past and present, that exist in this world. How do we know which one (or all) of the above will eventually explain and account for the unexplained?
So when strangers ask me, "Hey, where are you going?" I may not have an answer (and I definitely don't get in any stranger's car...anymore), and I may not know what will get me there. But whether it's Harry Potter, Buddha, entanglement or all me, I'm not concerned. I assume I'll get there eventually.
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