Butterfly Effect: A Journey to the Past
"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world."
- Chaos Theory
I got this from the film we watched last night, Butterfly Effect. It is an interesting film which presents that everything and everyone are interconnected. The protagonist, Evan, played by Ashton Kutcher, blocks from his memory harmful and traumatic events in his life. As he tries to remember these``blocks`` from the black hole of forgetfulness he realizes he keeps under his bed his journals, the vehicle that could help him reclaim his memories, help him go back literally to the past and supernaturally alter his life. Evan purposely travels back in time, his present-day mind occupying his childhood body, in an attempt to re-write history and spare his friends and loved ones these traumatic experiences. By altering the events of the past, Evan hopes to transform the present. But every time Evan changes something in the past, he returns to the present to find his actions have unexpected and disastrous consequences.
One of my companions after watching retorted, ``what possibly he could change in the past?`` I had been reflecting that question even before I have watched the film. There are a lot of things worth altering in my life. There are a lot of moments of frustrations and desperation. I have come from a very dysfunctional family and went through a lot of traumatic experiences in life – experiences I would want to put into oblivion. All these affect me even now. When I came to a point recalling all these strongly and vividly I would ask myself, ``What if these had not happened at all? What if I had chosen another course of action? What if I have done this instead of that?``
As I was one by one recalling and reflecting the ``mistakes`` of my past life and imagining the possibility of altering them, I got to generate the possible outcomes on how I would be living my life at present. Neither of these projected outcomes could satisfy. For every one alteration in the past, it could mean a foregoing of some of the “good things” which I am reaping in the present.
In the end, despite all the tragic moments of my life and all the stupid mistakes, I am confident in saying that there are no regrets in my life. If I would have the chance to go back to the past, I would retrace back the steps I have taken. The important thing is that I take the most of this life and live it fully. Despite the tragedies I see around me, there are indeed countless blessings worth my attention.
