I have an active imagination – which is why I can’t watch horror movies. But I love a good mystery – the suspense of an unsolved problem. That’s why I love days like today, when we celebrate all the mysteries in life – all the magical forces that shape and drive our world. All the intricate complexities and wonder that we can’t possibly explain.
Over the last couple of centuries, (or more), we’ve developed an unjustified bias for math and science – and a subsequent disdain for anything that can’t be “proven”. Of course, the hypocrisy of this plays out every day, in the way we live our lives, in the choices we make. Evidence shows that, more often than not, we don’t make decisions based on evidence. Other, more powerful forces – like emotion, instinct and faith – easily and regularly overrun logic. And though we talk often about all the energy, spirit and forces in our lives, we have yet to reconcile them with the organizational and professional imperative for rigour, proof and quantitative substance.
Whether you believe in the Force, Karma, the power of Intention, Spidey-senses or some form of god(ess), you’re acknowledging that there is a hell of a lot of things in this world (and beyond it) that we don’t understand. About which we don’t have a freaking clue. And that faith, that belief, is a double-edged sword in today’s world.
On one hand, it’s wonderful to be able to throw up our hands, abdicate all responsibility for our actions, and blame Karma for what happens to us. On the other, it drives many folks crazy, as they’re compelled to believe that they can control everything and everyone. (I suspect that these are the same people who hate Star Wars and anything in the fantasy genre, as they’re unable to suspend disbelief enough to get lost in the story, in the magic).
I’m lucky to fall somewhere in the middle. As a self-confessed control freak, I do like to know that I’m doing all I can to lead my own destiny. To keep my paddle in the water as my canoe jets down the rapids of life. At the same time, I know there are more things out of my control than in it. And I’m okay with letting go – and letting things play out. Partly because I’ve been around long enough to trust that it always works out. And partly because of my own faith. I can’t name it or describe it – but I do believe that there is some kind of larger energy force and destiny – some complex whirlwind of chemistry and fate that interacts with and influences my life. I also think that some people are lucky to have more positive energy than others – and some of us are just damned lucky to be born into deluxe circumstances, like life in Canada.
Today’s goofy holiday isn’t about Star Wars, for me. It’s about dialling into the energy that moves and motivates us – that shapes our lives – that gives us the power to create and cultivate a better world. It’s a good day to practice your intention – to reflect on what you can’t control – to experience the joy of going with the flow of the world’s forces, rather than spending all your energy beating against them, controlling them.
May the Fourth be with you today – and every day – in your search for satisfaction, and success!
