Help
Sign In
fate
October 2009 
How Far is Too Far?
Posted on Apr 4th, 2009
by 
Mathew
Mathew
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for April 04, 2009:
When the going gets tough, when should we throw in the towel? Does belief in a benevolent universe mean that good things are supposed to flow effortlessly to us, or are we to anticipate that some goals require the expenditure of good old fashioned blood, sweat and tears?
When I was a young man, in the face of some form of setback, scrape, or apparent defeat my mother used to often say to me, "It's meant to be". Of course, she was trying to offer me solace, however, I took it as if I she was telling me I should give up and fail, when what I really wanted to hear in those moments was, "If you fall off your horse, get back up and try again," or "You can do it, I believe in you," or, "The reward isn't in the end result, it's in the doing." Not that I didn't sometimes get that too, and not that my mother didn't mean well, but damn if that expression didn't aggravate me - though at the time, I had no idea why.
That said, when we are dealing with our desires and our goals, how far is too far? Is there such a thing as too far? Is there such a thing as meant to be? Or should we simply persist at anything and everything so long as there is an ember of passion burning in our hearts?
For the record, I believe that we live in a benevolent universe, however, I believe that the signs and synchronicities we experience don't always reflect that benevolence. I believe that sometimes we are challenged for reasons beyond our understanding, and that in the face of such challenges, the only true measure of reliability is our passion. In other words, what we feel inside will always trump what we see outside. Therefore, "meant to be" is whatever we choose it to be.
Then "what of fate" you may ask. Is there such a thing? And if so, won't some of our struggles be in vain. Well, to that I say, "Absolutely. And who cares?" If fate exists or even if it doesn't, we have no control over it , so why bother worrying. Our passions are our compass and until they die or change, my rule is, "It's never over 'til we say it's over!"
When I was a young man, in the face of some form of setback, scrape, or apparent defeat my mother used to often say to me, "It's meant to be". Of course, she was trying to offer me solace, however, I took it as if I she was telling me I should give up and fail, when what I really wanted to hear in those moments was, "If you fall off your horse, get back up and try again," or "You can do it, I believe in you," or, "The reward isn't in the end result, it's in the doing." Not that I didn't sometimes get that too, and not that my mother didn't mean well, but damn if that expression didn't aggravate me - though at the time, I had no idea why.
That said, when we are dealing with our desires and our goals, how far is too far? Is there such a thing as too far? Is there such a thing as meant to be? Or should we simply persist at anything and everything so long as there is an ember of passion burning in our hearts?
For the record, I believe that we live in a benevolent universe, however, I believe that the signs and synchronicities we experience don't always reflect that benevolence. I believe that sometimes we are challenged for reasons beyond our understanding, and that in the face of such challenges, the only true measure of reliability is our passion. In other words, what we feel inside will always trump what we see outside. Therefore, "meant to be" is whatever we choose it to be.
Then "what of fate" you may ask. Is there such a thing? And if so, won't some of our struggles be in vain. Well, to that I say, "Absolutely. And who cares?" If fate exists or even if it doesn't, we have no control over it , so why bother worrying. Our passions are our compass and until they die or change, my rule is, "It's never over 'til we say it's over!"
Access: Public
