Shuffle the Universe. Part 1: From Likes to Life.
Life is Music. Literally.
Have you ever thought Spotify or Apple Music could be a source of profound insights about Life? 🙂
That happened to me recently.
You probably know how the music recommendation algorithms work — all your previous song “likes” and “dislikes” lead to particular song “recommendations” provided by the music service. But what exactly is going to be played — nobody knows.
Let’s say I liked songs by Ludovico Einaudi, Hans Zimmer, and Hammock (my favorite band of all time, by the way) — so it’s highly possible the next piece the machine will throw at me will be the one by Julianna Barwick. But it may equally well be Jóhann Jóhannsson’s beauties — or Dustin O’Halloran’s melancholy. You never know. You know, though, two things might be similar between those recommendations — genre and mood.
The same happens in your Life — all your previous steps, “likes” and “dislikes” lead to certain event “recommendations” (by the Universe, or by God, if you wish). And boy, I wish we knew what the algorithms are, but what exactly is going to be on your plate next — nobody knows.
You chose that college over the other, that job, that friend, that living place, that hobby, decided to quit smoking, started drinking, etc. Each of those steps will directly adjust what “plays” next, just like in your music queue or recommendations radio.
You don’t know what exactly it’s going to be, but the mood has been set.
So how important is what do I do now? What is in my library that I’ve added so far — what kind of melodies do I set myself up for?
This analogy doesn’t stop here. What happens when you listen only to some specific genre or artist on Spotify or Apple Music and continue doing so for some prolonged period? Over time, your music recommendations feed becomes super dull and colorless. You listen to the same songs over and over again. The algorithm doesn’t know what else to supply you; it doesn’t have enough basis to add colors.
Think of it — something similar will happen in Life. If your “library” of tastes in Life contains only a few “genres,” chances are high that you may often feel bored. If you consistently do, like, or look for the same things repeatedly — you get consistently identical results.
Can we overcome it? Certainly! By making a dedicated, conscious effort to search for something new — a totally different genre (domain) and hit a “like” on it forcefully. Explore it and expand your variety of “likes.” Take new steps, explore new approaches — go for something unusual, and you will see opportunities unseen before.
What actions and approaches led you Here won’t lead you There. To reach places you have not been before, you must take steps you have not taken before.
This is exactly what is known as “Karma” in Hinduism — your deeds, “likes,” and “dislikes” in Life accumulate into something that starts to influence future happenings. In Hinduism, the goal is to minimize and eliminate all the effects of Karma. Basically, the end result it suggests is “just listen and embrace the whole variety of music genres as they are.”
Karma is a Sanskrit word that means “action” or “deed.” It refers to the law of cause and effect, where every action a person takes has consequences, either in this life or future lives. These consequences can be positive or negative, depending on the nature of the action.
So, based on Hinduism, it doesn’t matter what happens — it happens for you; it has its own “color” or “taste.” And the taste may be unbearably bitter, but The One who was able to quit the “music recommendation algorithms” now can embrace Life in all colors and listen to Life’s music in its variety of melodies.
See Part 2.
