fulfill my destiny

i believe we have a choice about destiny.
so many times i have made poor choices that didn’t line up with my destiny. i know this because i felt sick about them and made these choices out of fear, out of darkness.

in order to follow destiny you must listen closely. it is following Love and Light. it requires patience and humility and this is why it is so difficult.

why are we here
what about God
do you control your own destiny
what is the purpose of double sided tape
evolution or creation
how many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop
what happens after life
is stereotyping good or bad
why am i constantly searching for meaning in everything

In the car this morning on the way to school, my daughter and her friend, both 11, were talking about the death of Steve Irwin. I said how I felt that even though his death was very sad, how better it is to die while in your element, in the midst of something you are passionate about, rather than being struck down by a bus or something else both stupid and random. My daughter’s friend said “It’s destiny”, which surprised me since it’s a subject I have been contemplating lately. I launched into speech about destiny, purpose in life, random acts, etc. and my daughter said “No Mom, it’s Destiny!”; the name of their friend who was walking down the street.

As a parent it’s easy to surrender to the idea that my destiny is to shape the lives of my children so that they become intelligent, morally responsible beings. They in turn will shape the lives of their children, and it continues in perpetuity. That is important to me, but I don’t wish my legacy to be that I just propagated the species. Most of the other six billion people on the planet have this same fate. My idea of destiny is that it is also unique.

I have seen M. Night Shyamalan’s last five movies and they are all interesting case studies in the concept of destiny; Lady in the Water in particular. That movie could have been great if the names and roles of the fantasy characters had been simplified. I only saw the movie once and would see it again so that I could understand the details better. I think the first viewing is needed as a primer so as to absorb the information the second time. The few people I know who saw Lady in the Water seemed to have the same puzzled reaction, “What?”.

My favorite of his movies is Signs. I absolutely love the ending when it all comes together. It echoes my belief that all of the trivialities of daily life serve a purpose. I do believe that great things come out of terrible circumstances, or even just annoying circumstances. I don’t search for the meaning of life in movies, but I think I really enjoyed this one because of how closely it mirrors my faith.