What is Destiny?

Is there something inside you that feels like it is pulling you toward a goal? Sort of like a nagging feeling that vies for your attention?

The way I feel it is almost annoying, disturbing. It causes me unrest. Like there is something more I need to do. Something calling me forward. Like the universe is asking more of me.

What is it I need to do? What drives us to achieve? Is it to fulfill what is thought of as our destiny?

Our future stretches out before us into the unknown. What guides us in the choices we make? Do you ever wonder if you had chosen to go a different way what might have been altered in your life?

There’s no going back, that’s for certain. So we look to the future with hope. Each part of our lives is a new chapter, and we have the ability to write it.

But is any of it predestined? Are there forces that somehow determine the outcome?

We are creatures of free will. Our Maker saw to it that we would have the drive inside each of us to choose our own path. Nothing says that once we are on a certain route that we can’t veer off to another destination. We can, at any time, change our direction and follow a new course.

So what is our destiny? It would be comforting for our journey to trust that we have the protection and care of providence on our side. Either through nature or Divine intervention, we could know that we are cared for as we step into our future.

Do you believe in kismet - the idea that our lives are controlled by fate? Fate would dictate that events in our life are predetermined and out of our control. Or perhaps fate is the guiding force that leads us in our decision-making.

What about God’s will for our lives? Could this be the unseen force that draws us to reach further, to want to know Him and use the talents and gifts He has given us for His glory?

Whether we believe in fortune or chance, the truth is we don’t know what guides us in the choices we make in our lives. Many of us feel comfort through prayer. When a difficult decision looms, and we are uncertain of our path, we pray to God for guidance. It is our hope that God will show us the way we are to go.

Life is all about choices. Each of us has the power to choose the path we will follow. Right or wrong. It is our free will. But it would do us well to draw on whatever energies we feel may guide us in making the choices that feel right for us. Emotions can clog our perception. It is best to take our time in seeking the pathway for our lives. Pray for guidance. And trust your instincts.

To live a life fulfilled, we need to satisfy the desires of our heart. Master your own destiny. But do it with guidance from a higher power.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

"Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow." Psalm 25:4 

The Have’s and the Have-Nots

We are bombarded with advertisements demanding that we need to possess the latest and greatest of every item known to man. We have bought into this sentiment of need and greed to the point that we have become a throw-away society. We never seem satisfied with what we have, and we are always looking to the next item we can buy that will satisfy our need for the best, newest, or latest device.

We have come to look at want as a good thing. But I believe our desire to always want more leaves us unappreciative of our present state of being. While the division between our material and spiritual lives seems well-defined, this desire for always seeking more can bleed over into our spiritual life as well. Our hearts yearn for more love, better relationships, or connections with other people that seem unattainable.

All of this wanting leaves us empty and confused, and deeply unsatisfied; and in our quest to fulfill our emptiness we consume even more. We need to pause, and look not into the world outside ourselves, but deep within to find the satisfaction we seek.

The one person we travel our entire lives with is ourselves. Getting to know one’s self on a spiritual basis takes deep reflection and exploration to realize who we really are and what we need. This self-examination usually begins when a crisis of life occurs; something that challenges us to find the strength to go forward in our lives. Through the slow process of self-renewal, we gain the realization that our satisfaction must come from within ourselves. As we begin to grow an appreciation for who we are, we gain a better understanding of our place in this world.

We truly have been given all that we need to find our peace, but it is up to each of us to navigate our way through the ups and downs of life. By living with appreciation, gratitude and respect for ourselves we can take what we have and believe in the possibilities. We can find peace within ourselves when we live a life of gratitude, acknowledging our ‘haves’ and diminishing our ‘have-nots’.

The desire to want more is not a bad thing, if what we seek are the tools for living a good life.  Finding peace within ourselves is the first step. Through self-forgiveness and kindness to one’s self, we understand our humanness and our need to let go of past mistakes. Being kind and loving to ourselves goes a long way in what we bring to the world. When we find acceptance and appreciation within ourselves, we are able to carry this into the world we live in.

It’s the little things that matter most. Not what we have or what slice of life we have been given. We need to make our own peace, within ourselves, and this will carry us through the turbulent seas of life.

Seeking the help of our higher being, through consultation with our higher power, is the beginning of this reflection of self and the gaining of peace and contentment in our lives.