A Parallel "You" - Meditations on the Multiverse Theory
In a mirror universe, YOU are the evil/dysfunctional version of a better person with your name and face.
I believe in Hell.
This may sound odd for those of you who know I am mostly-secular, and holds many unresolved theological questions about the nature of a Creator/God.
The Hell I believe in does not resemble the Hell of Christian Eschatology, nor the Gehinnom of the Jewish Talmud, or the Jahannam dreaded by devout Muslims.
But Iâm getting a bit ahead of myself - allow me to elaborate.
The notion of âparallel universes/realitiesâ have been explored by many modern movies and Television series (Coherence, Rick & Morty, and the wildly-underrated one-season run of Awake, which deserved far more love than it received when it came out in 2010).
For the purpose of this exercise, imagine if parallel/mirror universes are real (even if you personally donât believe in them).Â
Now in this parallel universe, thereâs a mirror version of âyouâ with your exact same starting conditions - your same IQ, your same imperfect parents, your same weaknesses, your same talent stack and your same abilities.
The only difference between you and your doppelganger?
Every time you skipped a gym session, this mirror version of you went to lift.
Every time you indulged in a sugary dessert, the mirror âyouâ declined the temporary pleasure, and ate a piece of fruit instead.
Every time you slack off on your business, avoided calling a borderline prospect/client, the mirror âyouâ pressed forward, took the initiative, delivered value, and got properly compensated for it.
Every time you suffered a setback and sulked for days or months seething about the raw hand you were dealt or unfair betrayal you endured, the mirror âyouâ took the hit gracefully, mourned the loss, then swiftly reoriented himself to be back and pushing toward ambitious goals.
Every time you began an argument on social media with a stranger youâll never meet, the mirror âyouâ immediately recognized the trap and redirected his energy at a cherished friend/family who he realized he hasnât called up in a while and blocked out some quality time with them.
Every time you were in a difficult and emotionally combative situation between your friends and family, in which you lashed out/took a cheap shot at someone who hurt your feelings, the mirror âyouâ demonstrated graciousness to the transgressor (perhaps more than they deserve) and deescalated the situation.
Every time you told a convenient lie to wiggle out of an awkward situation (hoping you never get caught), your parallel self told the uncomfortable truth, and accepted the short-term negative consequences he could have bluffed/lied his way out of, and kept building the bulwark of his reputational currency as a straight shooter, capable of taking the hits that comes with being the bearer of bad news.
Now.
Imagine the compounded effect of these positive decisions as they stack, year after year, decade after decade.
How much further ahead would this individual be compared to you?
How much stronger and healthier would this individualâs body be, the disciplined âyouâ who never skipped a workout, and avoided the 1000+ sugary desserts you crammed down your throat in the past 15 years?
How much more money would this person have, who pursued business leads/clients which you were too timid or lazy to follow-up on? How many more high-quality relationships would this person have cultivated and deepened over the course of such a life compared to your existence?
At the end of your life, you will meet this parallel version of yourself, the âyouâ who made all the right choices in the tiny moments of decision.
The contrast between this individual and the âyouâ as you are, the version of you who succumbed to excuses, laziness and indulged the whims of your emotions will be enormous.
Hell is meeting this person, and having an eternity to contemplate just how badly you let yourself down. Hell is fully grasping how much love and deep friendships you could have had in your life, how much money you could have earned if you pursued your business goals with more diligence, how much impact you would have had if you hadnât wasted so many of your best years making excuses for yourself and shirking your potential by making the easy and convenient choices.
I believe we are all destined for different variants this Hell.
I believe the purpose of life is to be conscious of this truth, and diminish the severity of that Hell by avoiding the âeasyâ choices that present themselves to us, and push ourselves closer to that fully-realized, highest-functioning version of ourselves.
In the plot lines of movies and TVs featuring Multiverse/Parallel Worlds, the convention is to follow the protagonist as he encounters and confronts the âevilâ version of himself, and his Heroâs Journey is conquering the bad elements of his being.
But what if we, in our current life, are the Evil version of our better selves?
And the true goal was to close the gap between the cowardly, lazy, excuse-making current version of ourselves and bring it closer in alignment with that disciplined, courageous, conscientious self on the other side?