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~