I remind myself daily that life’s not a race, it’s a journey. A creative quest, meant to be experienced and mastered; not completed as quickly as possible. In other words – Slow Down. The path that leads to your Destiny is a challenging, circuitous route, rife with risks and rewards. It’s a “Hero’s Journey” that requires your complete attention and a slew of D-Words.
- Dedication – a devoting or setting aside for a particular purpose
- Desire – conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction
- Determination – firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired goal
- Devotion – being ardently dedicated
- Discipline – training that corrects, molds and perfects physical attributes, mental faculties or moral character
“You are not the victim of the world, but rather the master of your own destiny. It is your choices and decisions that determine your destiny.” ― Roy T. Bennett
The D-Words are connected to each other and to your Destiny. Without them, you leave your future to fate and happenstance. Destiny’s about taking control of your life and steering it down the path towards your “Heart’s Desire.” You’re free to share your quest with whomever you wish – or not. It’s yours. Your dreams, your desires, your path. Your Destiny. You make the rules, you write the script. You paint your Masterpiece on the canvas of the Great Wide World. It’s your adventure, to do with as you please. Don’t let outside forces dictate your decisions for you, it’s your Destiny, master it.
The D-Word list above, is in alphabetical order. For me, the most important one is probably Discipline, followed by Determination. I recognize that I’m a work in progress and need constant training and molding to correct my wayward path, back towards my Destiny. For you, it might be different. Perhaps you’ve not even discovered your “Heart’s Desire” yet, and without that the other words don’t matter much.
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Fredrich Nietzsche
Desire powers the journey towards Destiny. It’s the wind in your sails, that drives you forward. Without it, you’re rendered motionless; lost on an endless sea, without a compass – directionless. Once you discover it, the winds of change will carry you home. While Desire fuels your adventure, it’s the other D-Words that give you direction and keep you on the path. But Destiny’s not “Out There,” like a buried treasure that needs to be hunted, it’s inside of you already. Gifted to you by Great Spirit, before you were born.
Destiny is not the only thing that lives inside you though. There’s a judge who lives there too; the voice of your belief system. The beliefs you’ve cobbled together for yourself since you were just a little tyke, tossed into the societal stewpot. We share many of these beliefs, since we were all tossed into the same stewpot.
Your belief system’s like a heavy, wet fog; covering the valley of your life, limiting visibility and causing you to make assumptions, (Pro Tip: Don’t Make Assumptions.) Your path is a Spiritual journey and getting beyond the bastion of your belief system often takes going through a “Dark Night of the Soul.”
“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading” ― Siddhārtha Gautama
A battle between who you were and who you’re becoming. The Soul clubs the Ego to death causing an existential crisis. Confusion, depression, anxiety and chaos reign as your sense of self is decimated. Like a Caterpillar that perishes in the Chrysalis to emerge as a beautiful Butterfly.
For me, the Dark Night lasted almost a year. I was lost and directionless, as I desperately resisted the destruction of my old self, (Pro Tip: Go With the Flow.) My Ego talked his way out of being clubbed to death. I just put him in a Figure-Four leg lock, until he cried like a baby and promised to quiet down and become a team player. When I figured out what was happening, I embraced the transformation but I didn’t emerge as a beautiful Butterfly; more like a big, furry, grey moth.
“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.” —Black Elk
I now know that the soul expanding metamorphosis I experienced was not a one time thing. That my journey here in the Great Wide World is a series of Dark Nights, followed by glorious, sunny days as I evolve towards my Destiny. Change is the natural flow of the Universe and not something to be resisted. Let the “Winds of Change,” carry you home.
Your Destiny lies on the “Path with Heart.” Your Desire is the compass that will show you the way. It’s an arduous adventure though – a “Hero’s Journey,” with many Dangers, Dark Nights and battles to be fought. It will take a six pack of D-Words and a case of courage – Destiny’s calling!
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson