Appreciating the determined nature of events results in serenity. There is no such thing as a sudden bad twist of fate in which life abruptly flies off the rails. No matter what happens in the present moment, it is the inevitable result of everything that preceded it.
This perspective can help avoid going into a list of “if onlys.” “If only he took a different route driving home” or “If only she quit smoking sooner.” Although a different outcome might have been possible under alternative conditions, from a naturalistic perspective there is no way alternate conditions could have occurred without changing the conditions that preceded them.
For example, imagine that Loraine, an account executive was struck by a stray bullet while walking home. She would have avoided it had she set out at her usual time, an hour earlier. But Loraine had to stay late at work until she could reach a client who initially had not responded. The client did not respond because he was overseas where there was a 10 hour time difference.
At what point was Loraine’s fate sealed? When her client didn’t respond to Loraine’s first call? When the client planned the overseas trip? The regressions can continue without end.
Clearly, there are scenarios which could have played out differently, but understanding the nature of causality tells us that, given the events as they were, the results, whether we like or loathe them, are the only outcomes possible. Because every event is inextricably connected to all that precedes it, thinking about a seemingly pivotal moment as if could be removed from the causal tapestry into which it is woven is not an effective coping strategy. Although we can act in pivotal ways that can change our trajectory toward the future, when it comes to the past, having metawareness reminds us that events occur in the only way that history allows.