Mastering Destiny
by Luella Stroh
"They were destined to meet." "He was destined to fail." These are phrases
we have all heard or perhaps even used ourselves. We sing songs about it,
books have been written and movies made all woven around this thing called
destiny. We speak of it as though it is some mysterious force that holds
power over our lives and of which we are totally lacking any control.
Therefore all we can do is submit, right? If this is so, then we are merely a
piece of flotsam adrift in the vast ocean of space with our future held hostage
by the tides of destiny.I would not care to exist in such an environment for it presents to me a bleak
picture of eternal subjugation forever at the mercy of a force that I do not
even understand. Perhaps there is a clue. I do not understand what destiny is
nor do I know what it is not. Maybe if I can come to an understanding of
this word (this hieroglyph which conjures up images of total lack of control),
perhaps then I can begin to master this force and become truly the captain of
my own ship.Beginning where I usually start an investigation of this nature, I went to my
dictionary and looked it up. The dictionary referred me to another word -
fate. Looking up this word I found:Fate refers to the inevitability of a course of events as
supposedly predetermined by a god or other agency
beyond human control - the power or agency supposed to
determine the outcome of events before they occur.
Then it offered destiny as a synonym for fate, stating:Destiny refers to an inevitable succession of events as
determined supernaturally or by necessity.
The only clues I can find in what the dictionary offered are:1) This force is not of nor does it originate in the physical world.
2) The inevitable succession of events may be determined by
necessity.If we are all subject to this supernatural force, why do anything? If our lives
are already enslaved by this what is the reason for us even being here?
Indeed, why not give up and yield to destiny?In the asking of those questions I can see that to assume that fatalistic
attitude would be to defy our innate human nature. Although many may ask
why we are here, we still continue to go on with our daily lives with only an
occasional venture into the "why" of it all. It appears that we all have some
form of internal motivation that keeps us moving along down our different
paths, it gets us up every day and stimulates us to do whatever it is that we
find present on our daily agenda.How do we reconcile all this? Surely, it could be cause for deep depression
if we really believed that all our struggles were for naught because destiny
has predetermined a different outcome. If this is so we are merely pawns
and some horrible joke has been played on all of us. There has to be a
reason for our existence and therefore there has to be a way for each of us
to become masters of our own destiny!So, returning to the clues I found in the dictionary's offering, this force called
destiny does not originate in the physical world and it may be determined by
necessity. That second part I find interesting and I find myself asking who or
what makes that determination of what is a necessity? Is it possible that I
make that determination? No, not consciously make the determination but
perhaps by my actions or inactions I, physically, here in this world am
affecting my destiny. What I am doing today or what I am ignoring or
attempting to escape doing may possibly be determining what will be a
necessity in my future.Now I begin to see a reconciliation of that force which does not originate in
the physical world with the life I am playing out here. I can recognize the
possibility that the internal motivation that prompts me to daily action may
also be having some affect on my destiny. Or perhaps this motivation is
affecting the degree of difficulty or struggle I experience as I move towards
my destiny. In other words, if my actions or inactions are not in accord with
my destiny pattern, I find myself experiencing greater conflict, internally as
well as externally.However, I still have not come to an understanding of how we can come to
that place where we master destiny. If this force originates in the
non-physical world and I am in the physical, I have only this physical world
to search for clues that will assist me, that will point me in the proper
direction as I attempt to determine if it is possible to conquer this force. So I
must examine my physical world in this examination, I must utilize the
tangible to come to understand the intangible. I find myself wondering now if
this is possible? But yet something inside of me tells me it must be possible to
do so because this is where I am. I am in this tangible world and I find
myself asking these questions. Somewhere, somehow, I must be able to find
the answers if I am observant of my world and what is transpiring. This is all
I have to work with and somehow I must utilize what is here to find what I
am seeking.Ever vigilant have I been as I examine my physical world for the clues I am
seeking. I observe family, friends and neighbors getting up, going off to work
and conducting their lives as always. By reading the daily paper and
watching the evening news I see that the world is much the same as it was
yesterday and the day before that. There doesn't appear to be any
immediate or obvious answer to my question.Perhaps I am overlooking something, or could it be that I was anticipating
my answer to simply appear before me? Must I dig deeper? Look at life
from an alternative perspective? Maybe if I approach this from a different
position I can see something that I have been unaware of prior to this.As we all move through our lives, one day at a time, it appears that some
people have a broader view, they seem to understand that their actions
today have an impact on what they will experience tomorrow, next week or
next year. They see that to get from where they are to where they wish to be
will require certain efforts and are willing to accept the demands that will be
encountered. We usually refer to this as being mature and acting responsibly.
But, is it not possible for an individual to accept full responsibility for their
actions, skillfully recognize what must be done and then commit the perfect
crime? We would not look upon such actions as being mature and
responsible! What then separates the two? And, don't we all upon
attainment of a certain age, consider ourselves mature? We go to work and
pay our bills thus we are responsible, are we not? Furthermore, we are all
aware of people who respond impulsively to life. They go to work, pay their
bills, vote, see their dentist twice a year, but their lives always appear to be
one step away from disaster. Even worse are those who because of one
impulsive act or lack of reason, do something that adversely affects the
remainder of their lives. Why?In closer examination of what I have written here, it appears that maturity is
a determinate. Not maturity of chronological age but maturity gained through
experience. Aren't we all wiser at the age of thirty or forty than we were at
eighteen? Wasn't that gained through experience?Now, is it possible in one short sojourn here on this planet to finally come to
a maturity that makes one a master of their destiny? Perhaps, as we journey
along, each of us on our path of spiritual growth, each physical lifetime
provides us with another experience that brings us closer to full and
complete maturity. It may follow then that once we have enough of these life
experiences we are able to recognize what is required to attain our
objective. If this is so, what I am referring to is not of this physical world.
Instead it would evolve as I gleaned the wisdom from my previous physical
experiences to assist me as I moved forward, heading for another. And,
when I again find myself in physical garb, I now respond to life positively.
My response would neither be determined by a set of manmade laws nor by
fear instilled by some doctrine, instead my response would now be
commanded by my own integrity and morality. Even if confronted by ridicule
or threat of persecution I would be able to do no other.Is that concept so implausible that it is unworthy of our consideration? If we
look back at our founding forefathers we can see where their response was
in direct violation with the laws of England. Certainly there must have been
many who ridiculed them, even argued heatedly against them, perhaps citing
religious scripture to strengthen and confirm their positions. And yet, they
continued forward. Each for their own reason, some wishing merely to
escape financial indebtedness to England while others struggled with the
concept of complete independence.As they convened, while attempting to also conduct their daily affairs, there
had to have moments when it would have been so much easier to capitulate
and yield to family pressure as well as public opinion. But they persevered.
They wrote a document that is a model of freedom for the world. Among
those that gathered for that convention neither the heat of summer, public
opinion nor the pressures of their personal lives could compromise their
integrity. Our Constitution was so masterfully worded that it applies even
today. That group of people even recognized the possibility that they were
not wise enough to foresee the changes the passage of time may require,
thus included the right to amend the document they labored so to create.And, when their work was done they turned again to the affairs of their own
lives. They were merely people, just like us. Each morning they got up and
went about their business. They responded to circumstance, acted out of
necessity and left us a legacy that is a masterpiece.Which leads me to another question. Were they all masters of destiny? I find
that highly unlikely, it appears there were some in attendance whose actions
were generated by personal concern rather than by some internal morality.
Were any of them masters? I can see where there may exist that possibility.
If this is so, who were they, which were masters of destiny? I doubt if that is
possible to determine. Possibly even they were unaware that they were
masters of destiny. They walked among us unnoticed because they appeared
no different than their neighbor. Perhaps they still do!
SUMMATIONWhat I have written is my own examination. So often I find that by putting
my questions to paper I seem to move into a space where I find my
answers. But, these are "my" answers and this was written for my "self." If
upon reading this you find it stimulated you to ponder or to look at life's
offerings from a slightly different perspective please know that it is the
writings of others that so often spur me to take a fresh look at what I think I
know. Like our constitution I reserve the right to amend myself. And how
often I have exercised that right! That is the beauty of it all. We all can move
from the person we are today to become the creator of our tomorrow . As
we grow in wisdom we more clearly recognize the cause and effect of our
actions until our moment of complete awareness dawns. We are then an
enlightened soul, a Master of Destiny. A mature and responsible being.