on Newton's First Law ...

We do have the freedom to choose as we please, that is clear (in some countries more than others and in some households more than others I suppose); some of this freedom have been acquired over the years rather as no absolute freedom was granted to any of us at birth. We couldn't choose what to eat, what to wear nor the type of diapers we wore as babies, yet later and with the passing of time, this freedom has grown little by little, we have acquired a larger freedom. The other day I had a discussion with my 13 year old boy on this regard, are we truly free to do as we please? I suppose we are in the sense that we can, of our capacity to make choices yet we concluded also that there are impossibilities that are more circumstantial such as am I free to fly or tele transport? Can I go to Disneyland right now? no because I have no money. One could argue that yes we are free to act yet the capabilities that accompany these acts are lacking on our part. This led me to think that surely freedom has to be accompanied by capacity/capability or it will not exist, being capable of something is the beginning of freedom in that regard.

I think also that if we could we would love to do things without the weight of their consequences; we have tried this plenty of times throughout history and still keep at it, we are sold this idea over and over again at every corner and turn, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" reads one of the most famous slogans, offering this very same concept, the one of a life with no consequences. We want to enjoy certain things yet not have to face the consequences of them if possible, therefore the invention of lies so we can hide and not face the consequences i.e how great would be to have a night of absolute heavy drinking and fun and wake up the next morning as if nothing had happened? that would be the ultimate feat, and many try to find ways to do it actually, from drinking water with every alcoholic drink to consuming drugs to counteract the effects of alcohol; we must admit that we are "progressing" on our desire to do things without facing the consequences. Look at sex just as one example, centuries ago it was a given that any and almost every sexual act would lead to pregnancy and parenthood, no doubts, no ifs or buts; then we started figuring out women's cycles, and it went from then on to moon cycles, to certain foods and as per lately the infamous birth control methods readily available which makes us "enjoy" sex without the natural consequences of it (pregnancy); was it a progress or was it a regress rather? Like anything I think it has both ends, a great way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and yet philosophically speaking we simply have found what it seems, what we are deceived to believe, that there is a way to separate an act from its consequences; wise? true even? it surely looks like it yet one could argue that has made our society a more promiscuous one, natural consequences? I bet.

Let's extrapolate this principle and see how would it work, what would happen if we could do the same in every sense and act as we do, what would happen if we could do that in every aspect, control the consequences ourselves; we could kill without being responsible for such crime, we could commit any crime actually and avoid the consequences of them; we could neglect our obligations (crops, animals, children, jobs, etc) and not have to see the consequences such as no crops, or dead animals or neglect in our loved ones nor lose our jobs, I think I am liking this! wouldn't it be great? to live in a world with no consequences, or better said in a world where we get to choose the consequences of our acts and not some strange law of nature or societal agreements, but us, the masters of our own universe! could it be possible? Yes, it is not, it is an impossibility.

Why are there consequences then? what's the purpose of them? what is their Darwinian use? the utilitarianism of them? or even how do they contribute to the survival of the fittest? I think that consequences are rather mathematical and logical; they follow actions and are balanced so to keep the universe in balance, nothing created anew nor destroyed but rather converted from one thing unto another. There are consequences affixed to every act; "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" Sir Isaac Newton would assert, and one cannot ignore nor be exempt from the laws that rule the universe as much as we would like to; one can think, in our own ignorance, that momentarily one has avoided them but eventually all forces must come to balance themselves out; whether we call it Karma or simply the First Law of Newton. 

Consequences, may I suggest, will have an effect on us even according or regardless of our own belief system:

1. Of an eternal aspect; those who believe in the after life and God and all that jazz believe that the consequences of their actions will carry with them in the next life; let's call these, spiritual consequences, the inheritance of heaven or hell is simply a way to express that there are consequences to what we do, because they believe in eternity therefore the consequences must be eternal, makes sense; even the pleasing or the wrath of God is a mere expression of these natural consequences affixed to our actions, not the random act of an angry and vengeful God as some may like to portray.

2. For those who do not believe on an after life there is rather the satisfaction of a peace of mind, of a job well done, of a clean conscience, therefore the consequences of our deeds are here and now, they fill our hearts and consciences, giving us that peace, let's say that the consequences are peace of mind or internal misery in this life.

No matter how we slice this pie it will always lead to the same: there are consequences affixed to our actions, whether temporary or eternal.

One could argue that there is a third position, those at an even different level, those to whom consequences are nothing but mere punishments and annoyances therefore are ought to do anything possible to avoid them; but I think that that group exists inside both of the aforementioned ones, between believers and between non believers. I think that the intent to avoid consequences is where the birth of any and everything "evil" is; where this evilness is nothing but ignorance of this principle and our clear attempt and believe that in order to avoid the consequences of my actions I need to do anything within my possibilities, within my reach, whether it is to cheat, to lie, to hide, to conceal the truth, the intent is to avoid the consequences. The intent of deceit is so I don't have to face the consequences of my actions, why do I do it is another aspect as sometimes is simply embarrassment for my deeds or sometimes it can be a habit or simply the desire to get away with it, it ranges from one to the next person; yet we have all at some point or another have tried it or continue to do so. For those who live in the today and without the desire for introspection it might seem as a success but when we understand the order of the universe it might seem odd to try to cheat as it is impossible. Cheating, lying, deceiving, telling half truths, concealing, will not take us anywhere as the consequences will catch up to us, whether we believe it hinders our eternal progress or whether it not, the truth is that our actions do alter our inner core as humans.

Real peace and understanding will come to us as we understand this principle: that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you are believer in God you will say that the justice of God will catch up to you on judgement day; if you are not a believer of God you will realize that a guilty conscience is not fun to live with, and ultimately any human being will realize that the filth that comes from certain deeds only damage ourselves internally, making us unhappy individuals with less conscience and morality. No matter how one looks at it we come to the same conclusion that trying to avoid the consequences of our actions do not lead us anywhere but to unhappiness, to misery or to hell if you feel like using religious language. Then why keep trying to do it? at times it is fear, at times it is ignorance, at times it is embarrassment,  shame, but what I hope is to stop myself from looking to continue doing it. It must not become a habit because then I will be in bigger trouble, when the voice of my own conscience will have been silenced to my ignorance. As some would say: Namaste!