Now is the time of year when people eagerly seek fortune tellers' predictions for the year ahead. We won't know whether the forecasts are accurate until the next year, but by then few would bother to recall. Because it is time to consult the almanac for another new year.

People are always curious about the future in the hope that they can somehow avoid missteps and/or bad luck while maximizing their own good tidings. Unfortunately, the real world is full of surprises and no country or individual can predict or predetermine what the future may bring. In the past year, for example, the eurozone debt crisis scared investors repeatedly as it escalated and then seemed to taper off only to flare up again; an Italian cruise ship ran aground and capsized; more than 30 tragically died after a ferry sank upon colliding with another ferry near Lamma Island on the night of Oct 1 The ever-changing world is so unpredictable. Little wonder that late Chinese leader Mao Zedong wrote in one of his early poems, "I ask, on this boundless land who rules over man's destiny?"

Religious faiths aside, doesn't the human race, the most intelligent animal on Earth, already rule the world now? Just look at how much humans have changed the face of the planet in the name of civilization: skyscrapers change the skylines of expanding cities almost constantly; railways, highways, airlines and shipping routes form an ever-growing network of transportation all over the world; mechanized farming and assembly lines of all kinds make material production so much easier than ever before; and high-tech development has made so many dreams come true, not the least seeing and hearing what's happening thousands of miles away and even flying people to the moon and back.

With all this prosperity, however, we have not been able to prevent all the natural disasters and human catastrophes as we want to: from global warming, air pollution, the massive tsunami off Japan in March 2011 and the resulting radioactive contamination, to the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The human race has been warned so many times that the world we live in is losing balance, and all the natural resources will run out eventually as we keep extracting and consuming them at an accelerated pace. We are changing the environment too much, leading to our own demise, ignoring the truth that only natural law rules the universe.

It is the ultimate example of overestimating ourselves to believe that "man will defeat nature". Mankind can only survive by following natural laws, better protecting the environment, and reducing energy consumption and carbon emission as much as we can.

The human race cannot rule the universe but can control its own destiny. The old saying that our life is determined by fate, luck and feng shui is questionable to say the least, because reality isn't that simple. Different circumstances lead to different choices that result in different life experiences. As tycoon Li Ka-shing once observed, "one's future is the result of incidental choices one makes in life".

Life tests everyone with wealth, power and sentiment one way or another. Wealth can provide comfortable lifestyle while leading to excesses; superior position and power come with greater responsibilities, stiffer competition and more temptations that can ruin one's life with one wrong step; sentiment can warm or chill others' heart and even sow hatred. Money, power and love are what people live for. But each can be a trap, ruining or even ending lives depending on the choices a person makes along the way. A Buddhist scripture maintains that fortunes or misfortunes are all created by man himself and no good deed goes without reward, nor evil without punishment. That is why I have faith in the old saying that hard work is crucial to success; virtues benefit society; honesty compliments humanity; trust wins in business, and perfectionism elevates careers. One can deal with any trial or tribulation in life as long as he or she maintains physical as well as spiritual fitness, doing good things for society and being a positive individual.

The author is Chairman of the Hip Shing Hong Group of Companies.

(HK Edition 02/23/2013 page1)