A reader asked how destiny and free will can possibly work together. She thought that free will was causing her to stray away from her destiny, to forget its direction. This question brings up two topics of conversation. The first is free will. Free will is your divine right to choose. (Incidentally, choice is the first of the Five Words.) We were given this privilege in order to better understand the entire breadth of experience that is possible. Free will is that which has helped to create the extremes of dark and light that we see in the world. Bear in mind that dark and light, good and bad, in other words, opposites are really neither good nor bad. They just are.
Good and bad have great weight in our society because of the value judgments tradition has placed on them. In another society or culture, the good or the bad of something may be completely different. Opposites (good/bad, light/dark) are simply an expression of a whole which, when seen as a whole, teaches us to reach for higher spiritual goals. Reaching for higher spiritual goals doesn’t really have anything to do with religion. It has to do with working to reflect more of that essential love that creation was born out of in our actions and life.
The second topic is, of course, destiny. So many people ponder what their destiny is. They look for far reaching, grand plan goals to fulfill and are confused when their path to saving the world just never becomes clear. Destiny is also called dharma in India. Dharma is duty. Many times, your destiny is best fulfilled by diligently performing your duty. What? Not important enough? It is my contention that your highest duty is to create of yourself the closest embodiment of love that is possible. This is very hard work and takes constant monitoring of attitudes, prejudices, habits, and thoughts. Beyond that, your destiny may be to, as they say, chop wood, carry water until you are enlightened, and, after you are enlightened, to chop wood, carry water. In other words, do what you do. Your part of destiny may be as simple as spreading a smile and gratitude as an example to all you meet. Even a humble destiny is divine. Not all need to save the world and very few can do so all alone. Imagine, however, if we had a world full of people who were dedicated to being true embodiments of love. Wouldn’t that, in and of itself, transform our world?
Some people feel pretty sure what their destiny is. My reader is one such person and she was convinced (concerned?) that she needed to give up her free will in order to fulfill her destiny. The short answer is no. It is not natural or beneficial to give up your ability to choose, your free will. Free will is part of our agreement with the divine. Trying to divorce your free will is, I believe, impossible. Taking a vow to stop making the choices just isn’t going to get it done. Part of fulfilling your destiny is choosing, again and again, to honor it, no matter if it’s mundane or grand, to make it the priority, and to let that awareness from your highest self, fulfill it naturally. As hard as it may be, as much work as it takes to fulfill, your destiny is what drives you, sometimes kicking and screaming, toward a plan you put into motion long ago.
And still, it is a choice. You can just not. If you choose.
Good and bad have great weight in our society because of the value judgments tradition has placed on them. In another society or culture, the good or the bad of something may be completely different. Opposites (good/bad, light/dark) are simply an expression of a whole which, when seen as a whole, teaches us to reach for higher spiritual goals. Reaching for higher spiritual goals doesn’t really have anything to do with religion. It has to do with working to reflect more of that essential love that creation was born out of in our actions and life.
The second topic is, of course, destiny. So many people ponder what their destiny is. They look for far reaching, grand plan goals to fulfill and are confused when their path to saving the world just never becomes clear. Destiny is also called dharma in India. Dharma is duty. Many times, your destiny is best fulfilled by diligently performing your duty. What? Not important enough? It is my contention that your highest duty is to create of yourself the closest embodiment of love that is possible. This is very hard work and takes constant monitoring of attitudes, prejudices, habits, and thoughts. Beyond that, your destiny may be to, as they say, chop wood, carry water until you are enlightened, and, after you are enlightened, to chop wood, carry water. In other words, do what you do. Your part of destiny may be as simple as spreading a smile and gratitude as an example to all you meet. Even a humble destiny is divine. Not all need to save the world and very few can do so all alone. Imagine, however, if we had a world full of people who were dedicated to being true embodiments of love. Wouldn’t that, in and of itself, transform our world?
Some people feel pretty sure what their destiny is. My reader is one such person and she was convinced (concerned?) that she needed to give up her free will in order to fulfill her destiny. The short answer is no. It is not natural or beneficial to give up your ability to choose, your free will. Free will is part of our agreement with the divine. Trying to divorce your free will is, I believe, impossible. Taking a vow to stop making the choices just isn’t going to get it done. Part of fulfilling your destiny is choosing, again and again, to honor it, no matter if it’s mundane or grand, to make it the priority, and to let that awareness from your highest self, fulfill it naturally. As hard as it may be, as much work as it takes to fulfill, your destiny is what drives you, sometimes kicking and screaming, toward a plan you put into motion long ago.
And still, it is a choice. You can just not. If you choose.
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