Scrolling Notification

When I get time, I listen to music, or read books. If any is left, I blog!

Friday 19 March 2021

Whatever Will Be, Will Be...

I heard it first, as a teenager.  Years later, its relevance to life's ambitions and anxieties caught my attention.  Today, I know: "Whatever will be, will be".  I also agree: "Whatever happens, happens for a reason", but not with the silly presumption: "Whatever happens, happens for good"!

I am referring to a song that has defied time, tastes and trends.  Considered the signature song of the iconic singing star Doris Day, it appeared in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" an Alfred Hitchcock movie, winning the 1956 Oscar award for the best original composition.  The verses cite a child's questions about life and her mother's responses.  It is a different matter that the 'hugely inspired' musical geniuses in the Indian film industry lost no time in indigenizing it!

If Que sera, que sera meant: “Whatever will be, will be”, another aphorism that surfaced around the same time suggested: “If anything can go wrong, it will."  Attributed to Edward Murphy who, fed up with his assistant's lapses during an intricate experiment, is said to have uttered in exasperation: "If there's a way of making a mistake, he will.”  The immediate response of the community of assistants was: “When things go wrong and your boss smiles, rest assured he has found something to blame on you.”  Numerous spin-offs surfaced soon.  The original however stayed on among management executives as “Murphy's Law”.  Here are some interesting variations:
  • If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible time, causing maximum damage. 
  • If everything seems to be going well, something has obviously been overlooked.
  • It is impossible to make anything foolproof, because fools are ingenious.
  • If there is a wrong way to do something, then someone will do it.
  • When in a queue, you will find the other line moving faster.

Two simple phrases - “Whatever will be, will be”, and “If anything can go wrong, it will."  One makes us think about the major phases in life, the other hints at how unpredictable they are. One cautions us against pinning our expectations high; the other suggests:

 “Failure is only a detour, not a dead-end street.”
- Zig Ziglar

14 comments:

  1. Whatever will be will be. You cannot change what is going to happen. Whatever happens happens for a reason. Very true. Whatever happens happens for the good. Take whatever that comes your positively. Only then we will be able to go on with our lives. Good article. Well written.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Asha. Happpiness in everyone's life has a reason. That is as you said, accepting what happens as inevitable.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks Mili for dropping by. Come again.

      Delete
  3. Ha... ha...
    So why worry....
    Make merry & have fun....

    There was theory thriving in this so-called great geographical location few millennia before and that was ‘Charvaka’ theory which propagated that you ‘live only once and live it kingsize’. But, the wise men opposed it vehemently and burnt down all the philosophical manuscripts of ‘Charvaka’. As they had to continue their theory of fear through god/gods and post-death hell & heaven.
    But, eventually you would not get out of this alive, so, ‘Que sera, Que sera’.... love you Doris Day & Rajuda ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting observation there, Partha Deb.
      Thanks to Brihaspati and Charvaka, and to Ajita Kesakambalin.
      And thanks to Elbert Hubbard who asked, "why take life so seriously? No one is ever going to get out of it alive.”

      Delete
  4. P. K. Prasad5:13 am

    Good post. The message in it is valuable.

    Bringing together two thoughts, two topics and two outstanding personalities from two different fields is not easy. You kept me hooked and later left me thinking about the future. Keep writing, my friend

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you PK.
      Responses like yours keep me going.
      Thanks once again.

      Delete
  5. Bhatta11:54 am

    Well written. Took me to the good olden days of lively plots and lovely songs. They all had thoughtful messages to convey. So is Murphy'saw too. Combined, the life's philosophy reflected by both is a valuable indicator to us.

    Thanks Rajuda for this great post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bhatta. Glad you liked the post.
      Please visit again.

      Delete
  6. Very well written. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Shashi.
      Hope to see you here again.

      Delete
  7. Beautifully written.. and I truly agree with philosophy of " Whatever happens happens for reason "

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks a lot Mandar.
    Please come again, and post your encouraging comments.

    ReplyDelete