Ooh, I love this. The idea of a life an alternate you is living in a different universe…all those things you wanted for yourself in this life but didn’t get or those things about yourself you don’t like…can all be changed into a different outcome. Hmmm…
The first thing is that in an alternate universe I would be around 5′ 5″ because that way most trousers would fit me in the leg straight out of the shop. Superficial? Yes. An irritating reality? Also, yes. There are other things as well, though, with those extra three inches. I could reach things on the top shelves in the supermarket, possibly even stuff at the back of the shelf that I have no hope of reaching now. Yes, it happens enough to be an annoyance. And while I’m at it, I would have inherited the leaner legs of half my family, not the thick thighs of the other half – no matter how much I diet and exercise, they don’t change that much. So, that’s another thing I would change. Other than that in my appearance, I wouldn’t change a thing. So alternate me would just be taller with slimmer legs.
I have started to think about the things in my life I would change in an alternate universe. The thought of being born to uber-rich parents so I’d had the apparently charmed life of the children of the wealthy. But then I do wonder how charmed that life really is. Insulated mostly from the world and only able to interact with people in their own ‘sphere’ because how can they truly trust if people like them for who they are or what they have? I’ve heard this countless times, that the seriously wealthy are very guarded because they learn early on that newcomers into their lives might only be interested in the money. And that must just be heartbreaking. I think of Athena Onassis and her mother, Christina Onassis the latter of whom had a torrid life clearly not knowing who to trust but desperate for stability and, ultimately, love. Her daughter had her own difficulty having to fight her ex-husband who had cheated on her and at the divorce ultimately wanted to renegotiate the pre-nuptial agreement in his favour having already had a life with a father who seemingly saw her as something of a cash cow. So, no thanks. My life hasn’t been a bed of roses (whose has?) and while I’m not a person who trusts others easily, I haven’t had to question whether someone is with me for my money or the connections I might have my whole life.
Plus, the experiences I have had in my life have brought me to where I am today. My life isn’t perfect (again, whose is?), but I have a son I love with my whole heart, a good marriage, a dog who is my darling, my spirituality and my writing. Would I swap any of those things for something else in an alternate reality? Absolutely not so, I will be bringing all of that into an alternate universe. The only thing I would do is add a daughter into the mix. It wasn’t possible for me to have a second child though I would have dearly loved one. So, in an alternate reality I would also have a daughter who, like me, gets the thinner legs in the family and is at least 5′ 5″ tall. Oh, and in an alternate reality neither of us would have the genetic PCOS affliction that I would not wish on anyone. So, an extra child and healthy ovaries.
In an alternate universe, that me wouldn’t be squeamish so that I am in the medical profession. I would excel in the sciences (and have a healthy interest in arts-based subjects), and would have gone on to become a doctor. Preferably a brain surgeon I think. And I would be one of those science-based people who has a strong spirituality. I would feel that my skills and talents in science and medicine are there for helping people, I would feel my work was a service to others as I am sure many medics do feel. At university I had some medic friends, and one of them in particular came to his medical studies older than the others because he had taken the time out first to get a psychology degree to make sure he understood his patients and had a good bedside manner. This was as a direct result of a childhood trauma and the terrible bedside manner he remembered receiving. He always said, and I agree, that psychology should be included in a medical degree. So, I would like in an alternate universe for that to be true. That spirituality and psychology were incorporated into medical training for the benefit of the patients.
Actually it’s interesting, as I write this I am assuming that I am white, human and a woman. Of course, none of those things needs to be true. I could be a man, a different colour and/or some other form of life. I’m not sure I would want to be a man, in many ways life is easier in this version of the universe but it is also more difficult in many ways and both positions come through societal pressure. I would prefer a society where men aren’t pitched against women, where there doesn’t have to be a sense that man = opposite to women. In my alternate universe, then, we might have different genders for the purposes of procreation but, for the most part, we are just people. Men don’t hate women, women don’t hate men and we get on in harmony because it is as the collective we best serve our society. Similarly, there is no racism in my alternate universe because…just, why? When you really boil racism down it’s just the most nonsensical thing, the same as misogyny and misandry. In my alternate universe there is no racism because there is an innate understanding that we are all, fundamentally, the same. It’s just our cultures that are different which is perfectly acceptable in my alternate universe and not one that is forcibly replicated elsewhere. Hate is therefore something that doesn’t happen in my alternate universe and as a consequence, I am knowingly and openly part of a collective consciousness that celebrates each other in our similarities and our differences but works together, and with nature, to enjoy the experience we are sharing called life.
What else would be in my life in an alternate universe? My son asked me once that if McDonalds and KFC, for example, were actually health foods would we eat them? Or would we crave kale and broccoli instead? We came to the conclusion that such is the contrary nature of the human mind at times, we probably would prefer the vegetables and shun that convenience food. Of course, this conversation didn’t go into detail about the addictiveness of sugar. In my alternate universe…I actually don’t think I would change this. Because we all do have to be grown up enough to realise what we are doing to ourselves with excessive consumption of over-processed foods and take responsibility for that. So on second thoughts, I don’t think I would change that. And I wouldn’t wish for people to consider what they are doing because really it’s up to them at the end of the day. And this is about my life. Though I advocate for a recognition and understanding of the collective consciousness, this isn’t about a collective judgement on the life choices people make.
In an alternate universe I would love for there to be robots that come and clean your house, do the washing and ironing and cook dinner. All those jobs that I dislike intensely. A robot who plans your weekly menus and orders the shopping for that without me having to think about it at all. It’s those life admin things that I just get so bored with I guess. That take up an inordinate amount of time during the week, and I just don’t like doing! I would love for an alternate universe to have those services provided!
I would also, in an alternate universe, not be chronically seasick so I could travel by boat. I would love to sail the Greek islands but struggle with either the seasickness tablets that knock me out or the seasickness itself. Or sail along the coast of southern Europe, popping in here and there along the way for however long we want to be doing so. Sail the Nordic waters as well to explore the area. Not on a cruise ship because it’s so tightly regulated in terms of timing, but in my own boat. Yes, in the alternate universe I do not have seasickness and would holiday a lot on the water.
What considering an alternate universe and what my life would be like in it has shown me is that I would only alter relatively minor things about myself personally. I can live with my height and legs, I have done so thus far in my life. Though I would have loved a daughter, I have long come to terms with the reality of that not being possible (health issues that mean I also cannot adopt). What is interesting in questions like this is the internal query of – how happy am I in my life? Because this is an opportunity to reframe your life into one you would want to live. And an opportunity for you to frame your goals. I’m not going to be a medic (because I am squeamish), but I am still going to achieve the goal of helping people to realise their own spirituality mostly through my writing but through any other medium I can. Because what I really want is the judgement-free, hatred-free society that is based on a collective conscious. And if that is already in an alternate universe, we can bring it into this one as well I am sure.
Louisa Simpson 