Dree yer Weird

[tealin]

A former church choir leader once said this in my presence* and it's been lodged in a corner of my brain ever since. I'm going to horribly mangle it in my attempt to remember her words, but it goes something like this:

Everyone has a path set out for them. You'll always be presented with choices, which will either keep you on that path or put you off it, and it's up to you to decide which to take. But if there's somewhere you're supposed to be, a certain path that you really ought to be on, and you make the wrong choice, it's been my experience that you'll be presented with the same choice over and over again until you pick the right one and get set back on track.

The trick is, of course, stepping back from your life, looking at the choices offered to you, and deducing from them what your intended path is. And, as Ronald Wright quotes the graffiti on the bathroom stall, 'Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up,' much like last-minute plane tickets the choices can get expensive in many different ways, but they have to be made...

*Not to me, specifically

Comments

[noodledaddy.livejournal.com]

Nope, I don’t see it that way.

I think that we make the best decisions we can make based on the information we have at the time. Then you don’t look back. OK, maybe to learn from in future, but that is about it. After all, how do know that “the plan” for us wasn’t to turn down “the plan” four or five times until we accept it or ultimately turn it down?

I’ve said it before and will say it again, our trying to comprehend God’s mind is like a cat trying to figure out how a computer works. There is also the matter of free will.

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

I hope you enjoyed the free musical concert of fire alarm drills.

That is an interesting theory. It has some elements of Father Andrew Greeley philosophy in there, though he uses it in his novels more in a different sense- not so much choices about a particular path to take but continuous opportunities in life to discover our better selves and we choose to accept or deny it (he refers to it as grace). He addressed some of this in his bittersweet science fiction novel "God Game" in which the main character gets to experience this, not as the one doing the choosing but as God.

[(Anonymous)]

I really like that idea, and I think it's close to the truth. The choice may come in different forms or guises each time, but it will be there. I think it's kind of like God's way of trying to get you back on track without impounding on your free will. You can choose to say no, but you will always have the option of making the right decision.

[giant-ant.livejournal.com]

eck personally I've thought along similar lines, regards a general path but choices along the way, never thought of it as a cycle. though I guess it does make sense. Am curious as to the age of that choir master...

[infiniteviking]

That's a fascinating idea. I'll have to think into it more, but it sounds quite comforting -- the concept that God always leaves us a way out, whether the "path" be to a specific destiny or perhaps only a better state of mind.

Choices

[thefordmustang.livejournal.com]

BTW, I did find your comment about plane tickets hilarious- it is true and hilarious! We go through the same issue from the other side of the computer booking engine, especially where package tours are involved. There is a general trend for people to wait to the last minute to see if the prices drop. We need to make the most of yield management pricing, so late bookings hurt us. We always try incentives to get people to book earlier. Right now the going joke here is that people want travel package information earlier and earlier so they can book later and later. I even had a "nice" person chew my ear off for not having packages ready for 2009.

[azvolrien.livejournal.com]

It's an interesting thought, but personally I've never believed in destiny.