Does the mouse in the maze have free will?

Even if the maze has many paths that lead to the same exit, the mouse appears to have had no free will regarding the start or the end point of it’s journey. That’s not to say that the mouse couldn’t have the option to do nothing at all and starve to death in the maze, that would be an act of free will, but unlikely.

Are our lives any different from that of the mouse? Most people don’t believe we have an option regarding the when, where and to whom we are born to in this reality. We don’t choose our parents or circumstances do we?

There is another camp that says we do play a role in the choosing the when, where, who and circumstances of lives. If so, this would be the the equivalent of loading the dice. If we accept this idea, and play along for a little while, we can identify a number of people who entered into this life at the right time, to the right parents, under the right circumstances and still fail to be happy. In many cases, their lives appear to be tragic. In a way, we can say all the things which most would say are hallmarks of advantage, did them no good in attaining happiness.

We can just as well identify people who were born to less than stellar circumstances and managed to over come it all and attain happiness in their lives. Of course, the definition of happiness can come into question, but I can tell you it has nothing to do with money or material items. I know, that’s sounds like something someone would say who’s never had ‘want’ because they’ve always had plenty of money. But that’s not it. It’s just that the most interesting times I’ve had in life had nothing to do with money or material things. It’s been the people. Don’t get me wrong, money has it’s place, but it’s not part of the equation for happiness.

I’m sorry, but I digressed…

It would appear that even if you could have influenced the when, where and who of your existence, it would become a fixed event in time. Like a child looking in a closet with board games, you could choose the game. That’s free will. You could decide where, when and who, you want to play the game with, and that would all be free will. You and your friends could even decide when you want to quit playing or what would constitute completion.

Once you start playing the game, your bound by the rules of the game and your free will would be curtailed by those rules.

So, Why would we elect to play?

I wonder this all the time. If this reality is some type of game, or matrix, why do we choose to play? I’ve considered that we might find it entertaining. The other possibility is that we are being force to play. In that case it’s more like a type of imprisonment. The idea of imprisonment is fun to consider because you get to ask a lot of WHY’s.

Here is another thought; Who and what the hell are we?

Through all this dribble, I’m fairly sure the extent of free will is limited if we chose to play the game by the rules. I say we try to bend the rules. Can we alter the perceived reality to fit a more desirable out come and If we do alter it, or if we have, are there consequences? Will it cause a ripple or waves in the fabric of reality?

Look for the ripples, because waves can’t be far behind!