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:
