Is the universe rigged against us?

When you need a bus, it isn’t there; at other times, they are all around you. A stock goes up only after you sell it. When you try to sell your house, the prices are down; when you try to buy, the prices are up.

These are some of the ideas I have heard multiple times from my neighbors and relatives.

Can you identify the common theme here?

“The universe is against me.”

In their minds, this isn’t just a complaint; it is a law. This is how things work. It feels obvious. And when someone says such things, others readily agree.

Are we significant enough that the universe cares one way or the other about us?

And if the universe does care about what happens in our lives, why is it against us?

Here’s what’s interesting: many religions and spiritual traditions suggest the opposite: that our world reflects our thoughts and beliefs. That we’re creators, not victims. If so, the universe works with us, not against us.

So, if that’s true, why does it really seem that the universe is stacked against us?

Two reasons:

First, we are biased in our observations. We are more likely to pay attention to the absence of the bus when we want it; if it is absent at other times, we won’t notice it. Similarly, we are more likely to pay attention to a stock that goes up after we sell it. It can generate strong emotions of missed opportunity. And the stronger the emotions associated with a memory, the more likely we are to remember it.

Second, there is something oddly comforting about believing that we live in a world rigged against us. It allows us to attribute the messiness of our lives to universal forces and take pride in merely surviving. We need the universe to be against us so that we don’t have to confront our own role in shaping our lives.

But there is another way to live.

To believe in a universe stacked in our favour. To believe in our agency to change our lives. To take responsibility without self-blame, and without blaming others. To focus less on what we don’t want and more on what we do want and to channel our energy in that direction.

Perhaps this is a more helpful, and happier, way to live.