July 19th

Choosing


One side of a ridge is cold and foggy,
The other is hot and dry.
Just by choosing where you stand,
You alter your destiny.

Those who follow Tao talk of destiny. They define destiny as the course or pattern of your life as it spontaneously takes shape. They do not think of destiny as a preordained set of circumstances. There is no rigid script for this mad stage that we are on.Those who follow Tao then talk of location. By this, they mean something as literal as where you situate your house or where you stand politically. They think that these factors are very important. Let us imagine for moment that you had a job offer in another city far from where you were born. You move there with your family. Do you think that your life would change? We can refine this perception : If you went to a certain school, you would be educated differently. If you went into a different profession, it would change your outlook. If you lived in one neighborhood or another, you would be a different person. Every choice you make changes you.
No matter how minor or how great, you must make choices each and every minute that passes. The irony of life is that it is a one-way journey. You cannot go back, you cannot make comparisons by trying one way and then another. There are no double-blind studies when it comes to your own life. Therefore, only wisdom will suffice to guide you.

Personal Interpretation


Destiny in not preordained; rather, it takes shape as we live our lives, which will necessarily be comprised of a myriad decisions. We cannot test one choice against another, but must decide and live with the consequences of our actions. Wisdom is the greatest tool in our arsenal, and it is something that can only truly be gained through experience.

We are changed by every choice that we make, and it is essential that we know where we stand, for it is the surest way to know who we are at each and every step along the journey of our lives. Where we decide to live is important, but so is our political standing, how we situate ourselves in relation to the environment, the profession we choose to devote ourselves to. No one has all the answers, but the more we live, the more we are changed by the life, and the wiser decisions we can make in the future. And that gives us ultimate control over the destiny, which each of us must forge for ourselves.