Imagine If You Will…

Imagine if you will…

Perfection was actually attainable.

“Practice makes perfect.” “Nobody’s perfect.” At some point in our lives, most of us have heard these sayings. Whether we’re focusing entirely on practicing a hobby or working to hone our career craft, we’ve all wanted to be perfect in our abilities. We’re not sure when, but at some point, we all accepted that we would never be perfect in any aspect of our lives. Perfection is craved but impossible to achieve. Instead, we’ve learned to focus our efforts into being the very best we could possibly be at whatever it is we practice. But imagine a world where everybody can achieve perfection. Does perfection even mean anything at that point? Once everybody is special, then nobody is special. Striving for perfection would mean so much less.

Imagine if you will…

Every person has a finite amount of money and no longer worries about finances and debt.

If you’re anything like me, you truly do believe that money cannot buy happiness. However, I do believe that money would help alleviate many of the aspects that makes me unhappy. I am unable to buy a house. I am unable to buy a new car. I don’t think I would be able to rent an apartment right now. I have more than $40,000 in student loans to pay back. I don’t have health insurance. While most of this is a first world problem, it also stems from my inability to strike it rich, as it were. I hold no special talents or skills, nor am I in a place where I could move to somewhere like California or New York to pursue some of the options I feel like could propel me into that mindset. Money could solve much of that. The homeless problem in our country would dissipate. Our healthcare system would self-heal, and everybody could obtain the help and care they need. But this begs the question: What would happen to our economy? Would people still work? Would there be anything to strive for anymore? Infinite money would solve so many individual problems, but would it cause more overall problems than it solves?

Imagine if you will…

Nobody dislikes or hates anything, and everything and everyone is universally loved.

I think about this scenario far too often. There are many things that I don’t like. Green beans, raw onion, painting, yard work, humidity, most reality TV shows, arts and crafts, moving; the list is far lengthier than that. Yet I find myself doing most of those things regardless of my distaste for them. I may avoid eating raw onions and green beans, but I paint when necessary, do yard work as needed, and still go outside in the humidity. But what if my dislike of those activities disappeared? Let’s say I wake up one day and all of those dislikes disappear, and now I find those activities to be far more likable. Painting the walls seems far less troublesome, perhaps even enjoyable. Mowing the grass takes on a new meaning as I enjoy my time outside in the humidity while mowing. I don’t read too much into philosophy, and I don’t know near enough about psychology to pretend to understand how our brains work. But I can’t help but think that our ability to complain, comprehend dislike, and act upon those dislikes anyway (or not act upon them at all) is one of the things that makes us uniquely interesting. What would the world be like if everything was loved?

Imagine if you will…

We really are living inside the Matrix, and we are simply being used as batteries for a futuristic robot army.

Now, I personally believe this is not true, although there is no way to prove it, and the Matrix is not real. However, what if we really are inside a computer program, bait and puppets to provide a sustainable living for a robotic society 200 years in the future? I think back to the first movie where Cypher is having dinner and talking with Agent Smith. He is brokering a deal to give up the location of Zion, the last remaining human city in the real world. Cypher wants to stay inside the Matrix, have no memory of the real world existing, and wants to be rich. Every time I watch those movies, I reflect on Cypher’s realization that he wants the freedom to live without the knowledge of what the real world had become. The real world is dark, terrifying, and near human extinction. The machines have taken over, the sun has been blotted out, and a majority of the human race lives near the planet’s core because of warmth. Food is non-existent, and the world is on the brink of destruction. However, inside the Matrix, humans continue to live as if life goes on as normal. In my opinion, I think I would be a coward and want what Cypher wanted. Keep me in the Matrix, keep me in this fake world, because the reality is far too terrifying than my mind could comprehend.

Imagine if you will…

There is a heaven and hell, and their existence has been proven.

This is a touchy subject and rather ironic coming from an atheist, but let’s assume that heaven and hell do exist and their existence has been proven by some kind of evidence. What does this do for the people of the planet? Many of the wars in the world’s history have been fought over religion. A good chunk of political climate in the United States is based around the ideas of Christianity and how it is shaped or formed our country. Atheism and other religions are heavily frowned upon by the Christian community and have been for centuries. If we knew for a fact that heaven and hell existed, would it change the behavior and outlook of people? I know that evil is something that can be inherent due to mental issues, it can be taught, and it can be learned, but if people knew that acting or not acting upon those impulses could literally lead to heaven or hell, would things be different? It’s a scary but overly fascinating idea.

Imagine if you will…

We can read minds and understand instantly what another person is thinking.

One of the key aspects of living is communication. Through my studies in school and personal interests and beliefs, I have learned that communication is the root and core of all things. One of the reasons we enjoy movies and television shows so much is our love of storytelling. Watching characters interact and learn about each other is fascinating and riveting because we can relate that type of interpersonal communication to reality. If we lived in a world where that communication no longer mattered, what kind of interactions would we have with each other? I think back on Castaway and Chuck’s need for communication as he creates Wilson. Granted, Wilson doesn’t have sentient thoughts, and thus there is no mind to read. The idea behind the need for communication is still there. Now, while we crave communication and interaction with other people, how does that change when we no longer need to play the critical thinking and analysis game because we know every single thing a person is thinking? Part of the intrigue of friendships and relationships is the game of chess being played during conversations of all topics. Without that, communication dies, and the root of everything falls apart, the foundations crumbling beneath us.