A dragonfly’s fate
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
Søren Kierkegaard
I don’t believe in destiny or, when life isn’t going the way I want, that God moves in mysterious ways. Personally, I think this just comes from a desire to make sense of life. Looking back, we trace the path of our lives and the lessons we learnt along the way and force it all into an unnatural narrative. Little did you know when you ate that undercooked chicken that the food poisoning would lead you to the doctor you were destined to marry. Nice story … but in a parallel universe where you sniff tested the chicken first, did you also then end up alone? I doubt it. Little did you know that when you ate out instead, your conversation with the restaurant owner would inspire you to travel to Tuscany.
So much happens outside our direct control. We can only decide what’s next. In this light, to say ‘I regret nothing because it made me who I am today’ is both a healthy attitude and a case of thank-you Captain Obvious.
It sends me mental each time I try to make sense of my life. I’m like a dragonfly, darting from one storyline to the next. It doesn’t make sense and it won’t all magically weave together into one whole, amazing picture once I step back and look at it. It’s no use logically projecting where I’ll end up next. Rather, if I make each decision according to conscience, I’m confident that my weird, crazy patchwork of choices will lead me to a full and interesting life. Then, I’ll be happy enough to say…
‘I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.’
Douglas Adams
Muchness 