What are we, if not an exemplar of destiny?
I am sure this question must have popped into your mind very casually while sipping tea or while reminiscing failures (after crazy hard work) in your life. Does any of this matter? Hard work, our aspirations, these relationships, our plans, our choices, and we as humans? Do we matter?
I strongly believe in stars and planetary forces because seriously you think we could have done anything, or we are capable of doing anything on our own without these forces? If you think yes, in my eyes you are a delusional person. So does hard work and our intentions have any role amidst fate and destiny?
What is already done and what can we do?
Situation one: Imagine we all have 300sq.ft. given to build our house. Nothing less, nothing more. In this given area whatever you do is your choice. It’s now up to you to choose what color to use, how big a balcony or how many bedrooms you want. How do you think that colony will look after everyone is done with their job? We all have to build houses, we all have similar needs and have the exact same area (and all other required resources) but we know all the designs would fall somewhere in three categories- below average, average, and above average. Interesting right? Well, this situation was easy, a proper level playing field. But life is not this fair and easy, it comes with its twists and terms & conditions.
Situation two: Imagine we have been given the area as per some algorithm (planetary forces) and we have the same task to do. Build our house. A has 250sq.ft. and B has 1000sq.ft. Whose house do you think would be more beautiful? A’s or B’S and why?
I believe we have no control over the algorithm because we don’t have the power to make any edits. What’s there is there- accepting that as is, is accepting destiny. But we can do one thing in this process – we can try to build this house as beautifully as we can considering all the limitations of the situation. We can scale (up and down) the propensity and willingness behind putting in our hard work and keeping our intentions intact. To answer the above question, we really can’t say whose house would be prettier because we don’t know what choices A and B will make with respect to choosing the paint color, deciding the area, and being willing to build a house with sweat and hard work. If the area of land was only the deciding factor, then in situation one, everyone’s houses would have been of the same level- but that is not the case.
I hope both come up with the right choices and make the most of what they already have and what they can do.
Do we matter?
Now the question is how does it matter how A or B build their houses? After all, we are as significant as a ‘dot’ in this whole universe- who cares what we do and how it will affect anyone around or beyond us? But who told us to change the world and matter in this universe… We get stuck between these two thoughts- we matter, or we don’t matter. I believe the first extreme is delusion and the second end is denial. Our objective is to maintain a balance between the two so that we don’t end up being delusional and become self-absorbed in this vast universe but also not smudge ourselves in denialism thinking we are not real and this all doesn’t matter.
How important it is to build beautiful houses, with all the limited resources we have- well, we can’t change the world, but we have the chance to change that 250sq.ft. or 1000sq.ft. of this land. We have the chance to build a nice colony if not a state, we have the chance to create a fruitful and colorful society if not the city. Then really what stops us from doing this? Do you think we unintentionally underestimate the power of good because we remain tangled in the thought that we don’t matter, especially when it comes to building something good? We mostly discuss bad and its impact but, in the process, we forget, that we can also discuss and do good.
We all come here and die one day. But in between, we live. We make friends, we fight, we cry, we smile, we build, we create, we feel pretty, we feel ugly, we work, we dream, we help, we fall in love – and sweetheart, you ask, do we matter?
What’s yours will find your way…
I truly believe this, and also that we will get things only at the right time. But until and unless, we don’t work enough, our aspirations and intentions are not aligned, and our plans and choices are not genuine, be assured we will never be able to experience our destiny in its full swing. Indeed, we can’t change the direction of these forces or our destiny, but we can change the vigor of these forces. We can’t re-write our destiny, but we can make a few choices and, in the process, shape our destiny.
You have the choice to remain stuck and think about the algorithm or you can choose to build and color your dream house. What will you choose?
Review – Your article put forward your view in original way. That’s really nice . However theories related to life worth which are made by stoics, Tao , Omar khayyam and Gorakhnath could have been cited.
My view -. I think God/someone is experiencing himself or on a trip of cosmos through us. We all are eyes and small part of her. What ever we observe , is actually observed by her. We can leave this theory for upcoming discussions.
Bottom line – “WE NEVER BORN, WE NEVER DIE, WE ARE ONLY VISITORS.”
If I recite Tao and Gorakhnath in my blogs, how would that be ‘through my eyes’? 😛
PS: I will have to level up my life game before reading, observing, understanding, and then citing these legendary people in my blogs. Not there yet :).
Yes, we are only visitors, but we still have a choice of becoming good or bad visitors!
Good or bad are human construct (Dualism).
We are just what we are nothing more than that.