Our Genes, Our Destiny!

Greg was on top of his world. He had the looks which compares fairly well with the leading men in the silver screen or in the boob tube. His agility, strength and prowess were envied by many tennis enthusiasts in their high school, who tried to beat him in court over and over again but failed. Inside the classroom, he always stood out in solving challenging problems in Calculus, and he impressed his speech class by the eloquence and wits he put into the delivery of his talks. He was the ‘Casanova’, the  apple of every lady’s eyes in campus. He seemed to have all the best qualities for a ‘perfect’ man. He graduated  top of his class. And yet despite of these, he still set his feet on the ground.

Twenty five years after, Greg’s high school classmates were gathered together in a  high school reunion as the silver jubilarians.  Excitement filled the atmosphere as the  jubilarians put forth  their best. A showcase of how the quarter-of-a century changed the lives of  the alumni was flamboyant.  Dramatic and full of surprises, this best describes how people got into the huge event. Many got in tagging their families along. Some came singly. As the crowd was getting thicker, the huge arena was filled with so much snafus, guffaws and perfunctory musings. This is on top of the voice over announcements aired now and then, and the music played non-stop. A lot of catching up, family introductions, reminiscing the nostalgic good-old-high school days, and yes, reliving the gossips.

The program was about to start and everyone was craning their neck scanning for Greg amidst the crowd. He was nowhere. Then a wheelchair-bound man wheeled in. He exhibited uncontrollable jerky movements. His personality was changed.  Everyone who knew him was shocked and in total disbelief!! Greg with a late-onset genetic disease called Huntington’s chorea!

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There's a gene for everything. Pretty face, smooth skin, cute dimple? there are genes for that! Tall, dark and handsome? there are genes for that! Red hair? there's a gene for that! Good at Calculus? there's a math gene. Funny? cranky? feisty? there are genes for that. A god gene for the spiritual!  Breast cancer? diabetes? there are genes for that. And there are countless  other genes that may prematurely curtail our mortal journey 

Our genes are the ultimate puppetters of our lives. We may be blessed  by the good genes or cursed by the bad. Our genes make us who we are as a biological entity! They make us special and one-of-a-kind! Our genes is nature's endowment, randomly and endlessly mixed in a haphazard game of chance. We have no control over our genes. We can not choose our genes. We are what we got!  And so, we live (and die) under our genes' bliss or mercy. 

Our genes do not behave like robots. Though some of them selfish, they don't work with  extreme exclusivity. Our genes pick up clues from the environment; from what we eat, we drink, we breath or from what we were exposed to while we buried ourselves inside our mother's womb, . Together, they make the person we are! The conditioning and programming of our genes  started shortly after our beginnings, after mom and dad were having the times of their love. 

We  have a  constant love-and-hate relationship with our genes. Just as we love some traits which make us a so proud about ourselves, we  feel  inept with some. Our genes foretell our future, but we know not what's in store for us. At some points in our life, some of our genes may bring us to the pedestal. But somewhere down the road,  other genes may pull us down to the dark abyss. 

Our lives, being controlled by our genes, makes us feel so powerless and lame. No matter how powerful the individual is! Cancer. Huntington's chorea. Parkinson's disease.  Sickle cell anemia.  There are genes for these! And these genes play no favorites. They know no boundaries. They don't care if one is young or old; rich or poor! They are totally indifferent!

Just as no one can go against nature, we can do nothing against our genes!