The world owes you nothing.

The world owes you nothing, get over it.

We like to think the world is fair. Growing up, fairy tales are told to us where good defeats evil, and the world is returned to right. It’s everywhere, from bedtime stories to B-list Hollywood; the same story plays out. However, this idyllic narrative lies deeper than one might first think. Parents and carers raising children seem to reinforce it without realising. ‘Do this thing you don’t want to do and afterwards you can have a treat!’- one endures bad, but in the end, rewards follow and all is well. Raised as a strict Catholic, any remotely bad behaviour of mine that was followed by any form of slight ill against me (the time difference between the two encounters never seemed to truly matter) and this was deemed as God’s way of punishing me. “What was that, Boy?! You took my name in vain? How DARE you! (even though that was actually my plan all along) Here is a splinter on your thumb for your sinning!” that sort of thing, apparently. Even outside of a theology-driven upbringing, I am sure that phrases such as 'you get what deserve’ and, ‘that’s Karma’ (the concept of which seems completely fragmented from its original meaning) were not unfamiliar. It has left most of us with a feeling that the world is fair, and if we behave well, rewards will come our way. Which it isn’t. And they won’t.

               
Why is it that good things happen to bad people? This seemingly does not fit what we have grown up with. “They didn’t eat their greens, so how have they ended up with a dessert? And yet here I am on my third plate of broccoli, with not a treat in sight. I volunteer at a homeless shelter, donate to hospices, and I even take time out to talk to those charity workers on the streets! Surely, I am due some sort of reward for all of this good behaviour? I know I don’t behave this way for the benefits, but it must be about time a spot of good fortune comes my way? This isn’t fair.” We strive for this regulated, behaviour/consequence pairing. It’s why we have the British Honours list and law enforcement; ways to show that good things deserve praise, and bad things should be punished. But there are plenty of ways people can still be dicks and not be imprisoned, and plenty more ways to be nice that leave you without a mention by the Queen.

               
What this really is, is another attempt at searching, and indeed wishing for, divine intervention. We are slowly stepping in the right direction towards a society that finally acknowledges that a man doesn’t really sit in the sky, and pull leavers and twist dials to control everything He has supposedly created. But despite this, people still search for an external factor to which they can either blame or thank, as their life pans out. Taking a spiritual outlook and believing that ‘everything is happening for a reason’ is a comforting feeling when one deals with a negative or challenging moment in life. And when positive moments do eventually arrive, we sell ourselves the familiar story that 'I knew this day would come, I deserved it, and it is indeed, about time this came my way'. We do this, because the alternative frightens us. We refuse to admit that the world is full of randomness, without any intervention from any external forces. 

              
 As human beings, we want support and guidance in times where we feel stressed, alone, and uncertain about the future. We want to believe that there is something beyond our understanding, forces working behind the scenes to have our backs; hence our creations of fate and karma, as well as being told you ‘get what you deserve’. Even as we move ever closer to leaving our religious pasts where they belong, we are clinging onto the feeling that we are not alone. There is a God shaped hole within us all, and it is difficult to fill. The hardest part is realising that it can be just that: a hole, a gap, a space once filled with something we needed, yet no longer do. But I guess it’s tough for Pixar to animate a film based on the crushing reality that no omniscient force dictates our life, and ultimately, there’s nothing to blame when shit hits the fan.