April 30th

Openness


Nothing is meant to be.
There is no predestination.

In ancient texts, the idea of predestination is very strong, but the usage of the term is purely metaphorical. People in the past used the word to express feelings of affinity for a place, a time, or for others. But nothing of the future is set.There is no cosmic puppeteer at work. We are solely responsible for our own actions. It is true that we can become mired in circumstances so strong and so far-reaching that they will continue to have ramifications far into the future. For example, if we construct circumstances right, such as starting an organization to help others, then the good will last for a long time. However, if we fall far into debt and do nothing to help ourselves, then the bad will also last a long time. Yet in both cases, our lasting situations are results of our own actions. This is not destiny. It is causality.
Causality is from the past, and nothing is acting from the future. There is no script, no pattern to walk into. Everything has to be created, and we are the artists.
Those who follow Tao endeavor to have as few restrictions placed upon them as possible. By completing each action, they minimize causality. By living fully in the present, they absorb the best of what each day has to offer. By understanding that there is no literal destiny, fate, or predestination, they keep the future as free and open as possible. That is truly the openness of life.

Personal Interpretation


Openness is of the utmost importance to those who follow Tao. Adherents do not believe in the concept of fate. Predestination may have a place in fatalist religions, but it does not have a place in a philosophy that seeks to transcend the notion of there being a divine plan. Our actions may echo in the future, but this does not mean that we were predetermined to act in a given way. It only means that our action was one with great consequences. Sometimes the choices we make can impact our lives for a long time. If we make an effort to get a solid education, we are more likely to find gainful employment, provide for our needs, improve our standard of living, and afford to pursue dreams that may require money to fulfill. If, on the other hand, we put off paying our bills, the debt that results can also cripple us for a long time. We don't reap rewards or suffer because some vengeful or benevolent god wished it so. It is our own efforts that create our lives. To some extent, we create our circumstances. There will always be some aspects of them that are beyond our control, but we also have the ability to change them, and we get to decide the extent to which they affect our lives.

It cannot be denied-there is a kind of comfort in removing our own free will from the equation. We are no longer obligated to make wise decisions if everything has already been determined. We are like children following the routine that has been set for us. While Taoism asks us to be like children in our acceptance of the Universe and ourselves, it also asks us to achieve a certain maturity level, the maturity level that is necessary to make decisions that impact not only our own lives, but which may have ramifications for the world at large. It is a big responsibility, but it is one which we must all come to assume.