The Universe Doesn’t Care About You

Ronan Takagi
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

When I was younger, I subscribed pretty heavily to the notion of there being a higher power out there; that our lives have meaning and are guided by some all-knowing entity. As I grew older, I realized if there’s a higher power out there, he/she/it doesn’t care about my day-to-day activities. It’s not like Sims where I’m at the center of the simulation. It’s more like Sim City (or Sim Universe) where I’m just a random statistic in the virtual world.

I’ve stopped looking up to the heavens for answers and instead put my nose to the grindstone. If I want something in life, I have to get it myself rather than wait for the Universe to hand it to me. The fruit of that labor is a book I’m getting ready to self-publish on Amazon next week. It’s not going to win the Pulitzer Prize or anything, but it’s something I’m proud of.

On the day I uploaded the manuscript to Amazon, I got a package in the mail from my mom. She’d sent me a copy of The Fox Who Wanted to Fly, a fable I’d written when I was 7 or 8 years old. Even from that early age, I knew I wanted to write for a living. And now I was finally pursuing that dream.

The funny thing is, my mom had no idea I was working on a book. She just stumbled across The Fox Who Wanted to Fly and had the urge to mail it to me. It was weird getting it the same day I uploaded my manuscript to Amazon. It could’ve just been coincidence, but it felt like more than that. It felt like vindication. It felt like a sign from the Universe that I’m on the right track.

We shall find out soon.

p.s. for those who want to see the whole book (I put the book text in the caption of each photo):

“Once upon a time on an autumn day in the dark, dingy forest, a little fox named Freddy was taking a nature hike.
“Then Barry the Bird flew by.”
Freddy thought, “I wish I could fly.” Then Freddy had a brilliant idea. He thought, “I’ll put some feathers on my arms like a bird. Then I can fly.”
So he killed a bird, took its feathers, put them on himself, and climbed to the top of a mountain. He climbed all the way to the very tippy top.
Then he jumped off the mountain. Freddy said, “I’m flying! I’m flying! I’m flying! I’m falling! I’m falling? How come I’m falling? AAAAAHHHHHH!!” SPLAT. Freddy had died. Moral: Don’t try to be something you’re not.

Written by

father. husband. writer.

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