911...this is the universe...what is your emergency?

Sometimes you read a book that is so profound that you have to sit back and say "whoa, that makes a whole lot of sense!" For some those books may be self-help, adventure, historical, autobiographical, whatever trips your trigger. But as for me...I tend to find the most interesting statements in fiction literature. I read a lot of fiction, mainly to escape reality for a bit and live in another world, another time, another dimension, as long as it's anywhere but here. I enjoy fiction on not just an entertainment level, but also as an art form. How DO these people come up with these story lines??

BUT I digress...several of the book series I've been reading have tackled the philosophical discussion on destiny and whether a person is in control of their life or if some other power is at the wheel. Below is a small part of a book character's description of her thoughts on destiny.

"...I think we're here to make the world a better place than we found it. I think we don't always deserve the cards we're dealt, good or bad. But we are judged by how we play the cards we're dealt. Those of us with a bum deal that makes it harder to do good -- we just have to work a little more is all. There's no destiny. There's just muddling through without doing too much damage..."

When I read this, I had to laugh because I've often thought the same thing. I've had people ask me why I'm a secretary when my degree and experience qualifies me for more. What they don't understand is that I don't necessarily want more, and even if I did my collegiate career was hardly spectacular. I left high school with a good GPA, a long list of extra curricular activities and naive dreams of a future as easily attained as high school was for me. My misplaced ego was the size of a Buick until I crashed up against a wall called "reality" at college. Humility was the best lesson I ever learned. Stubborness was the second. Flexibility was the third. College was difficult but I stuck it out and got my degree. At this point, academics are pretty much out for me, but I'm okay with that. AND the older I get, the more I like not being in academics.

I could be the kind of person who believes in destiny and that there was some higher being directing my life like a theater production, but then I'd have to be angry and resentful, now knowing WHY my life didn't turn out the way I foresaw it. And, you know, believing in destiny is really just cruel. Where is free will? Maybe I want to try door #2 rather than #3. AND, blaming destiny for where I am in life is really a scapegoat. You would never learn to accept the responsibility of actions! I just can't agree with that kind theory so....

Considering that I'm not unhappy in my job and that I COULD pursue additional training if I really felt the need... For now I'm just going to play my cards the best way I know how. The deck will likely change in the near future, but I'll manage or I'll pick up some new cards. Regardless of where I end up, I prefer being the driver of my life.