The Unlikely Consequence

I have been thinking lately about the way a series of events unfolds a path that no one would have predicted. An innocent desire to cherish, nurture or protect, may result in more harm than if the desire had not been acted upon in the first place. Most actions are the result of a desire to achieve a particular goal. For example, a community may want to develop a center that serves a needy population. But that desire might set into motion numerous problems for the neighborhood, causing more harm to the community than the center would have alleviated. And even worse, may become a gathering place where people are brought together who should never have been brought together because of the exponential harm they cause together, rather than the minor harm they might cause as individuals.

I do not think any of us are wise enough to truly know what good we may do, nor what harm we may be generating. We are blind to the ever changing mechanisms which organically emerge from our society. In other words, we haven’t a clue. Does that mean we should never try to do good for someone else? No, because we have to try to help each other. But it does mean that we should not expect that because we intend to do good, good will be the result. And it is also possible our desire may set into motion a series of events that result in harm to both ourselves and others. This is reason enough to think very carefully, when you have the instinct to do something that seems like it is for the good of others. Make sure with each step, you question whether it is still serving the need of those you intend to serve. If not, it is better to abandon the path, even if it feels uncomfortable to admit you have been wrong.

I watched a film recently, “Oscar and Lucinda”. It outlines this idea, with more clarity than I could with my words. I have added a link to a video (below), with a series of clips someone put together and posted on YouTube. It has a soundtrack by Evanescence, which is not the original music. This clip only conveys the visual sense of the film. The message in the film is very different.