"Everything Happens for a Reason"
"It was meant to be."
"It was destiny that brought me to the Seed."
Ohh, these are tough. I don't like them, and I see them in other religions and New Age beliefs.
However, they are tricky. Here's my thinking:
1. It's good to believe the 'everything happens for a reason,' because it's easy to get depressed and think life is meaningless. However, if you think you KNOW the reason, you get in trouble. You can think, "I have to marry this person, we're both Aries, and we have the same birthday, and we both like cake - it's meant to be!" I've gotten in trouble myself with 'magical thinking' like this (marriage number one, for instance)!
2. Destiny - yes maybe, and karma too, but if I start believing that I have the 'gift of instant awareness' or that others do - look out! And don't drink the Kool-Aid!
3. Almost all religions have some of this mystic mumbo jumbo, and sometimes I even feel 'the spirit'. But I remind myself, if there is a God (and I hope there is), how could I presume to know what the plan is? Instead of believing in 'destiny' I will try to be as aware as possible, make the best decisions, and be a rational human being!
Thanks, end of soapbox...
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Wally Gator[ This Message was edited by: cleveland on 2004-11-02 08:55 ]