Hello friends. Forgive my absence, but life outside the technosphere has been quite active, and to my chagrin I have not been able to write my blogs as diligently as I would normally wish. However, I still come on each day and read what you all have to say, and try to comment when I can. That being said, I have much to say, having kept much inside for a while.
Destiny is a tricky word. Many people use it in the sense that their actions have been preordained and that there is little choice in what they do and what they can acomplish. It implies that there is a greater force shaping their lives. Some others use destiny as the end of the road, and that even though we have choice in our actions, it will eventually lead us to the same point regardless of choice. I have never been one to believe in these concepts, but I still appreciate the machinery of nature and how it influences us and what we do.
Physics has taught us much in the past century. It has brought us technological wonders that go far beyond the scope of understanding of our previous generations, and at times stretches the limits of our current beliefs of what is possible. Particle physics has often been cited as the scientific proof that destiny exists. Only events that can occur will occur, and everything must follow the laws of existence. The past, some may argue, is proof enough that our lives are predetermined, because all the events that have led us to this point have occurred, and cannot be undone. To exist as we are today, everything down to the most minute detail had to happen as it happened, because if it had not, then we would not be who and what we are today. Some extend that logic into the future, through the belief that just as our pasts had to unfold the way they did, that our present will inexorably lead into the future regardless of how we shape it or guide it.
The only difference here is perspective. As sentient beings we are able to look back on our pasts and recognize that we are not the same people we were before. Indeed, biologically we are a completely different person on the cellular level ever seven years or so. The past, having occurred is unchangable, but by definition the future has not occurred, and therefore is mutable. There is truth to the belief in the preceding paragraph, but not the complete truth. Our actions leave an indelible print upon the universe that can not be changed or undone, and will have an effect on all other events to follow it. But because we cannot see the future, regardless of its status of written or unwritten, the ignorance of either gives us the freedom to shape it as we desire through our actions and choices.
I find myself coming back to the notion of memories and dreams. Memories, although shaped by perspective, and occaisionally warped by our minds and imaginations, serve as our biological diaries. They are our journals to look back upon ourselves with clarity and insight into how to progress into the future. Dreams are just as crucial, but instead of showing us what was, they allow us to imagine what can be. Both are equally powerful tools in the advancement of the self and society, and neither should be ignored.
There is a prayer many of you may have heard about accepting what cannot be changed, changing what can and having the clarity to know the difference. I have always like the message behind that saying, if not the content. The message being we should take the time to examine our present and determine what choices and actions will be best for us. Too often our lives are run by just wanton and indescriminant action, and too late we realize that we are all held accountable for our actions, positive or negative. The real power comes from accepting the world as it is, because the past cannot be changed, and learning from the past to create a better future. IrayoWillofeywa 15:13, November 28, 2010 (UTC)