Use of the Rule

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" - Anton Chigurh from the film 'No Country for Old Men'

The above mentioned line is delivered by a philosophical, albeit psychopathic hitman before killing someone in the movie. Violence is a draw at the movies, people are always curious. Everything that has anything to do with conflict, be it mental or physical, arouses our interest. Scripts are written on the three act formula. Exposition, Confrontation and Resolution. The stress is inevitably on the confrontation.

While we all try to avoid conflict in our lives, all the while we are aware that smooth sailing is a relative concept - there will come a time to face up to circumstances where one might come up short. This abrasive nature of existence is not lost on our subconscious. Our search in stories of conflicts is a search for a prism through which to look for clues as to how to deal with such dire situations. In the heat of the moment, we hope that our learnings will help us find a way out.

What happens on reflex is common to all creatures, the responses that set us apart are the ones that are voluntary. Hence the stories that are retained and repeated by society are the ones which at their core are instruction manuals for behavior when faced with crisis. Ancient mythological epic adventures of every culture form a part of these tried and tested guidelines. A case in point - Bhagavad Gita.

The realization of the fact that inaction cannot be a valid response when faced with those crunch moments is the start point for the development of a crisis encountering mechanism by an individual. With a gameplan now in place to face any eventuality, one can go about life without hesitations and second thoughts as long as one keeps to the rules drawn up for survival.

But eventually the walls crumble and you sail towards your terminal confrontation knowing that the endgame is imminent. At that point of final settlement one last contention remains: "If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?"