Courses of Life - Part II

Since I got off on a huge ramble last time, I wanna consider the other possibilities of life as well. I told you I believe that our life is affected by our choices.

Now consider the other extreme: perhaps our life is actually planned out for us? Perhaps, in that series of canals, there is only one set direction we will take... the one we are MEANT to take. So, theoretically, if we went back in time to try and change the future, it would simply be something that's planned out in advance, and we would ultimately just bring about what already happened.

Then, there's yet another possibility, one that's more likely, but no less encouraging: maybe, our life IS determined by choices, but we're simply MEANT to make certain choices. You can sit there and think for hours about what choice to make, but ultimately, the one you do make will be the one you were meant to make anyway.

OR, finally: perhaps all our choices are influenced by our circumstances. So our parents influenced us and they were influenced by their parents, and they by theirs, etc on back to the first ever choice. From a Christian worldview, Original Sin.

Now I'm gonna recap using that example. Suppose you had a method of time travel, and could go back to a certain time in history. In this case, back to before Original Sin happened. Suppose you wanted to stop Original SIn from happening. There are several possibilities:

With the theory discussed in my last post about choices determining future: Even had two choices. She could, a) trust God and not believe the Serpent, or b) listen to the Serpent and eat the apple. If you went back in time, you would be an influence on her that would sway her in one direction or the other. However, even if she chose the "right" way, there would still be generations after that would have to face the temptation.

With the one choice theory, stopping Eve from eating the apple would keep the world innocent and naive forever. With both theories, this would SIGNIFICANTLY alter the future, and if your future self even existed, it would be very different from what it was... Meaning if you "returned" to your future self, you would be a different person that whet everyone knew you as, and you would ruin your life.

With the one fate theory, the fact that you, Original Sin, and the future even exist would testify to the fact that Original Sin DID take place, and there's no way to change that. Therefore, you were somehow MEANT to chose to go back in time, and you're somehow going to make it happen, and nothing will change.

I know... this sounds like a bunch of insane rambling. Maybe I had too much wine. (jk!) But it IS random! And I just felt like talking about it for some reason. *shrugs* Who knows... maybe it'll come in useful someday.

~Nen~

Courses of Life

I've been wondering about the nature of decisions and events recently. If you've ever seen The Butterfly Effect, it'll help you know what I mean. Is it true that you can't change one event in your life without your whole life being different? Is life like a branching channel, with hundreds of possible ways to go, and our course is determined by our choices? "It is not our abilities that make us who we are. It is our choices." ~ Albus Dumbledore, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I don't believe in fate, perse. I don't think that out whole entire life is already planned out to happen in a certain way. I think we have the choice to shape our own lives, and we play a certain role in shaping the lives of others. However, I also believe that God has a plan for us that will allow us to live your life the best we can. More on that later.

I imagine life to be a metaphorical series of canals that we sail down in our own little boat. It's almost like a family tree. You start out with a stem... your birth, an event you have no control over. However, it is just another canal in your parents' life. You parents begin to shape your own "tree." The way they treat you and care for your physical and emotional well being sets you in a certain direction. For example, if you're abused as a child, you're going to go in a very different direction than if your parents carefully raise you and nurture your development. You could end up an emotional wreck at the age of five, or a child genius... or anywhere in between. From there on, the tree keeps branching. There are major areas - major decisions - in our life, and then there are smaller ones. Some we shape for ourselves, others are shaped by the behavior of others. In the end, as we look back at the course we have sailed, we may be able to see the other paths we could have taken.

But imagine if you try to go back. Perhaps there was an event in your childhood that you'd rather forget, something that causes you pain. Imagine if you had the ability to travel back to that event and change what happened... set yourself on a different course. Wouldn't that change every subsequent good thing that happened to you as well? Sure, other good things might happen, but you'd no longer be yourself. You'd have a different life... a different course.

This also calls to attention the effect we have on others. Every time we interact with someone, we potentially determine a new path for them. A scathing comment could place than on a path that would eventually lead to suicide, while a compliment could place them on a path to stardom. The more you think about it, the more you realize how much you could be responsible for someone else's life. For example, in The Butterfly Effect, whatever changes Evan attempts to make in his own life end up affecting Kayleigh's life in drastic ways, from leading her to commit suicide to making her a rich and popular sorority queen. In the end, he realizes his influence on her, and sacrifices his own interests to keep her safe from him. It's a chilling message.

Finally... imagine the therapeutic implications, especially in psychology. If patients can be helped in finding the areas in their life where they were thrown on a "wrong course", they can find ways to compensate and improve their own life.

Now, let me clear up how faith ties into this. The way I see it, God knows all the possible courses our life could take, and he knows which ones are best. If we trust Him and pray about all our decisions,lettnig Him help us make them, then He can lead us on the right course that will help us live our life to the fullest.

I'm going to stop rambling now.... Just know, I CLAIM CREDIT for this idea! LOL! I'm going to write a paper on it, so DON'T STEAL IT! GRRR! :P

~Nen~