by Don Huntington, Editorial Director

Being in control of one’s destiny, as Bryan describes, can be either a good or bad thing. For example, a man who smokes three to four packs of cigarettes per day for 30 years and then dies of heart disease when he is 49 years old has been overtaken by a dreadful destiny of his own making. On the other hand, an immigrant working at a tire company who spends six years taking evening classes at a local college and who then lands a job as office manager, ultimately becoming a vice president in the corporate headquarters, has been overtaken by an excellent destiny that he fashioned by his own efforts.

Destiny can even be both dreadful and excellent for the same person. For example, the men in the two examples above might be the same man.

In reality, destiny is a mixed bag with variables that can’t be completely controlled. For example:

• A person could lead a healthy lifestyle and die of disease while still in his teens.
• A person could get a Ph.D. from Stanford, fall off an exercise machine, striking his head, and end up working as a janitor the rest of his life.
• A punk kid could rob an elderly woman of a lottery ticket and win five million dollars.

I can’t completely control all the outcomes in my life, but Bryan’s comment about destiny is true as a general principle. And the more I regard the outcomes of my life as being within my control, the more effectively I can work on improving those outcomes. Such an attitude is a twist on the ancient idea of good fortune coming to people prepared to receive it.

I think I prepare myself to receive good things. I love the people around me and work hard for my neighbor’s success as well as my own. I usually control my passions, live a generally clean life, and perform with joy most tasks that come to me. Bryan might approve of my life. The only thing he couldn’t tell by looking at me is how I came to be creating the destiny that I’m apparently working to achieve because he couldn’t know that there’s something within me that is continually trying to be born.

In reality, I’ve been on a personal mission of trying to become a good egg ever since I read CS Lewis’ stirring words:

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.

Lewis’ thought in the quote is profound. Unless it hatches, any good egg will become a bad egg before long – and eventually will become a very bad egg indeed.

I’m no longer a young person, but in spite of my calendar age I feel that new energies are always coursing through me. I’m in a state of perpetually getting out of my shell. I’ve had a feeling for a long time of just getting started.

One of the great philosophers, Søren Kierkegaard, said he didn’t claim to be a Christian. He always considered himself in the process of becoming a Christian. I know just what he meant! I think many of us, including people from various beliefs and religious styles, remain in pilgrimage mode. Life is a journey. We arrive at milestones, perhaps, but while we are on this side of death we will never arrive at a stopping point. The task of shaping destiny remains unfinished until life ends. The egg is always hatching and I’ll kill the life inside if I ever stop the process. The way to ultimate glory lies open before my feet only so long as I retain this child-like attitude.

I’m grateful every day for the positive energies that keep flowing to me! I’m thankful for a principle of grace in my life that lifts me above the vagaries of both chance and my own personality. I’m living life on a higher plane than Bryan’s comment allows for – a life marked by qualities like joy, love, diligence, and calmness.

I don’t know what my destiny will finally be in this world, but I’m not in the slightest concerned. Somebody said, “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.”

That’s a hopeful thing to know! Those are good hands for my destiny to be in!

Dr. Don Huntington
Editorial Director
don@110mag.com