Destiny

” The  destinies of men are subject to immutable laws that must fulfill themselves. But man has it in his power to shape his fate, according as his behavior exposes him to the influence of benevolent or of destructive forces.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       I Ching

 Immutable laws that must fulfill themselves is another way of defining the law of cause and effect. This law tells us that at any given moment, where we find ourselves is a direct result of what we did in the preceding moment. Anything we do in any given moment will project us into the future in ways that are subject to these immutable laws. Our actions set in motion forces that determine our destinies. We cannot avoid suffering the consequences of what we do and these consequences are lawfully determined. These laws cannot be changed; they are immutable.

 If the fool does not learn the lesson, then he will continue to act foolishly and suffer the consequences of these actions. The only way to change this destiny is to make the connection between what he does and where he finds himself. But the connection is not obvious to him because he does not see the world as subject to immutable laws. For the fool, it is simply a matter of bad luck or bad timing and the next time will be different. But the truth is that it will always be the same because the same forces are always being set in motion. Without an understanding of the laws at work in our lives, we are fated to continually find ourselves in the same predicaments time and again. But how do we become aware of these laws if we do not even see the world as lawful?

 The I Ching suggests that this is accomplished by exposing ourselves to benevolent as opposed to destructive forces. And these benevolent forces would be those things in our lives that not only suggest the existence of these laws, but also help us to understand what they might be. It could be the people we hang out with, or the books we tend to read or even the dream that comes to us in the middle of the night. For example, suppose we are given information in a dream that feels significant to us but we cannot interpret the symbolism and so decide to ask those close to us for their opinions. If no one close to us believes the information can come to us in this way, then choosing to expose ourselves to them in this way will only result in the dream becoming trivialized and the information lost. What the I Ching suggests is that we can alter this fate by choosing not to expose ourselves to these ‘destructive’ forces. It is within our power to alter the outcome through the choices that we make. And since the choices can only be made by us as individuals, we are ultimately responsible for our own fate. No one can be forced to make the right choice. On the other hand, we are all influenced by the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

 If there is someone in our lives who understands the power of dreams, then the possibility of being influenced by them exists and the information may not be lost. But the choice must be made at some point to include this person in our lives. It’s  up to each of us to not only invite these benevolent  forces into our lives, but to eventually become the benevolent force itself. And by the same token, it is up to us to eliminate the destructive forces from our lives by choosing not to expose ourselves to them. There is nowhere to hide; the choice will forever be ours and ours alone.