Recently, I attended an Art of Living workshop in the Bay Area. A big take away for me is the following excerpt from Celebrating Silence by H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar:
Free Will and Destiny
“When people consider the Past as Free Will, they are filled with remorse and regret.
When they consider the Future as Destiny, lethargy and inertia set in. 
A wise person will consider the Past as Destiny and the Future as Free Will.
When you consider the Past as Destiny, no more questions are raised and the Mind is at ease.
And when you consider the Future as Free Will, you are filled with enthusiasm and dynamism.
Of course, there will be some uncertainty when you consider the Future as Free Will, and some anxiety, but it can also bring alertness and creativity.
Consider the Past as Destiny, the Future as Free Will, and the Present Moment as Divinity.”
A few years back I came across this quote in an issue (Jan ’05) of Harvard Business Review. I believe it is by novelist John Barth and is as follows:
“The story of your life isn’t your LIFE, it’s your STORY!”
It was definitely intriguing enough that it continues to stay in my memory. But I believe it is beginning to make (more) sense now.
In a way, if you look at the story of your life as your story, you can script it with Free Will. If it is simply your life, then you run the risk of being relegated to the lethargic and escapist acceptance (and/or, the misery) of the preordained.
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Tags: Overheard
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