Infinity…
Every single day we wake up making hundreds, if not thousands of decisions. The time we get out of bed, what we have for breakfast, the amount of time we take to get ready for the day…every single decision is ours.
It’s interesting because every decision that we make has an infinite number of parallel universes that exist right alongside that decision. And quite honestly, that thought drives me a little insane.
Do you ever find yourself questioning “what would be happening right now if I waited 5 more minutes to get up?”, or “how would things be different if I got on the tube five minutes earlier versus now?” Weird questions, right? And ones that completely turn your brain inside out. My thought on that is that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Right time, right place, right decision.
These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind within my research, taking me in so many different directions - ones that I am still trying to process. My research question poses: How can conscious awareness of alternate universes enable us to explore self-positionality?
I recently started reading “Parallel Universes Of Self” written by Frederick Dodson. He takes on numerous standpoints regarding the existence of alternative universes parallel to our current reality. “Imagine hundreds of highways beside each other, stretching out in front of you. While these highways lead to destinations or come from destinations the highways themselves are the destination in and of themselves… Each highway represents a unique life experience, options you could decide for. Each of these highways represents a different version of yourself".” (Dodson, 2017, pg. 11).
What a crazy way to think about life. This quote helped me understand that I am in the driver's seat of my life and can choose which highway to ride on, but at the same time, the fact that an endless number of highways exist is an overwhelming thought. That means there are an infinite number of versions of me that exist. Ones that I identify with and ones that I do not.
It’s interesting because, as humans, we choose to identify ourselves with our current environment. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and maybe even spiritually or religiously. But the question that comes to mind within this is, do our environments give us our identity, or do we give our environments identity by how we choose to perceive it?
Honestly, writing this all down has my mind spiraling in itself. It is so interesting how we are just humans living our lives. This research, questions, and everything in between makes me think so deeply about the existence of our soul.
It is crazy that there are just an infinite number of lives that exist within our own, but at the same time, I do believe that everything is pre-written before we experience it. Every action we take, every step we move - it has to be pre-written, right? Because how does my soul already know what decision I am going to take if I have not decided myself?
Right about now, there’s this movie scene coming into my head. It’s this Instagram reel from the movie The Matrix, by Lilly and Lana Wachowski. This character explains, “Because you didn’t come here to make the choice, you’ve already made it. You’re here to try to understand: why you made it?”
My response to that, “wow.” So maybe I am also trying to understand why I made the decision to make decisions.
Resources
Dodson, F. (2017) Parallel Universes of Self. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Instagram (2026) Reel by @scencesbit. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVPBfwEjWk0/
