UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young
Are we the masters of our own fate or is there a destiny unfolding for us? We often hear ourselves and others pondering what we are supposed to be doing in this lifetime. What is our path, what is our purpose? Some just seem to know while others can spend a lifetime trying to figure it out. Then there are those who believe we create our own reality; what we have in our lives is what we have created.
These are two paradoxical positions. I like to believe the truth lies at the heart of the paradox. In other words, I believeboth that we are the creators of our lives and that we have a destiny or purpose in our lives. It can be a little hard to get our heads around this. It is a little like a pianist who does different things with each hand, creating a beautiful composition in the process.
How does this work in life? Consider that our souls are eternal and currently manifest in physical form, housed in our bodies. Our souls are ancient and wise and have chosen to have this Earthly experience for a reason. It may be for our own growth and learning or perhaps we are to play a part in the learning experiences of others, and they in ours. The trick is we are not given this information when we arrive and there are no answer keys we can turn to. Life provides the raw material and it is for us to choose what to do with it and how to think about it.
Destiny unfolding or creators of our reality? Truth is no one knows for sure. However, if we believe a little of both, it can serve us very well. When you come from that place of being master of your fate, you can be conscious and responsible, setting goals and creating the life you want.
If you do this, yet somehow still feel unfulfilled, thinking there has to be something more, it may be your soulful or spiritual side is whispering it is time to wake up to something beyond the current life you are living that wants to find expression. Sometimes, you think you have it all figured out and suddenly things go sideways. The happily-ever-after, til death do us part relationship comes crashing down or the job disappears and we bemoan the fact this is not how it was supposed to be. Yet this may be exactly where our destiny is expressing its self. Much as we may have chosen our path, it may be that something on our soul’s agenda is overriding what we had planned.
It’s a little like downhill skiing. Sometimes, you ski in a very controlled way and other times, you just go with the hill, surrendering to it and letting it carry you. Sometimes, we plan our lives and control what happens and other times we need to surrender to what is actually happening. We can either have the attitude that sh*t happens and perhaps become angry, depressed, anxious and negative about life or we can consider the possibility that what is happening may be a kind of divine course correction that will ultimately serve our highest good whether it feels like that now or not.
Ironically, even when destiny intervenes, we can still be masters of our fate. This is because the way in which we choose to interpret and respond to what happens to us will absolutely determine the quality of our lives.
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Gwen Randall-Young is an author and psychotherapist in private practice. For more of Gwen’s articles and information about her books, Self Care CDs and the new Creating Healthy Relationships series, visit www.gwen.ca. See display ad this issue.