Determined to not answer letters

I find myself still thinking of The Life of Chuck which had a mind-bending effect on me, similar to what Robert Sapolsky had. 

In his book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, Sapolsky claims that any choice we make is the only one we can make in any situation and depends on our genes, culture, education, our experiences, everything that happened to our ancestors all the way down the line, the current environment, and the situation in question. Sapolsky proves by neurological tests that our brains already make the choices before we make them.

The thought of not having free will is frightening to many but for me it was liberating. At the same time I became aware of the huge responsibility of my actions and how they affect other people because for the people with whom I interact, I am part of their environment and their experience of life. It made me appreciate these encounters and decide to try to be actively constructive in them. 

It may be that The Life of Chuck has been in my mind because for the past two days because I have finally taken myself to sort the papers and the photos of my mother who died last year and also the papers and photos of my life that had survived my past 40 moves. Those photos and papers are the remaining glimpses to my life and my mother's life. Looking at letters and postcards from people I had encountered and never answered delaying it until I forgot it, I feel regret. All these people touched my life and therefore were part of my inner universe that I lost too soon. I now know that too was determined. I wish I had encountered Sapolsky earlier. But his book only came out in 2023.

 

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