How much control do you have over your own future?

Can people with different opinions be right?

What can a personal story tell us about the big issues?

In our discussion, wealth was considered an important factor in how much control we have over our future. The more money we have, the more opportunities we can create and the more hope we can buy. However, the majority of us would choose good health and spirit over infinite wealth.

I think that what makes us happy and having control over the future are separate. A lot of people want a stable, fairly simple future: a family, a house, maybe a car etc. Having a more secure grasp of our future would help us achieve this, but often the ultimate aim is to be secure and happy. 

The control we actually have over our own future is small. So many factors influence our future: politics, the economy, the weather, accidents, the people we meet etc. We often have a decent amount of choice in our actions and how we think, but sometimes even this is restricted in the bigger picture. When we meet someone from a different culture, the person is often strongly influenced by their surroundings and culture. It is a bit like the frog in the well: we can't actually have a perception without society's filters, so even in a 'free democratic' state, our decisions and future are guided by our influences and circumstances. It is not like we can't change our future, but I think a lot of luck is involved in destiny.