If you're very lucky...

Bonjour,

I LOVE the responses I have received; if only two of them. They are the reason I am doing this blog, but also, to be brutally honest, Carrie Bradshaw was a huge inspiration for writing this, as well. Before I post my next question, I thought I'd throw these quotes out from Carrie. Strangely, as I turned on the TV, the episode "I Heart N.Y." was on and I felt like the universe was speaking to me. I've been dreaming of visiting NYC again, and the words spoken in this episode were perfectly timed to this blog. So please enjoy her wisdom as I ponder what to include next time!

Adieu my friends.

"I got to thinking about fate. That crazy concept that we're not responsible for the course our lives take. That it's all predestined, written in the stars. Maybe that explains why, if you live in a city where you can't even see the stars, your love life tends to feel a little more random. And even if our every man, every kiss, every heartache, is pre-ordered from some cosmic catalogue, can we still take a wrong step and wander off our own personal milky way? I couldn't help but wonder, can you make a mistake and miss your fate?" -Carrie Bradshaw

"Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn't fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life, and people go. But it's comforting to know, the ones you love are always in your heart. And if you're very lucky...a plane ride away." -Carrie Bradshaw

Questions and (hopefully) Answers

I'm sharing this blog for a multitude of reasons. Recently, I have come to believe that you cannot truly complete a thought, or have a thought answered for that matter, without writing it down. Spoken word is powerful, but what do people do when they have questions? Maybe they ask someone for advice, maybe they pray, but you can probably place your bets on a person with questions referring to written word. Whether it be their friend Google, the Bible, a self-help book, or a simple magazine, as a species, we want answers.. and reading is where we find them.

When I titled this blog, I was thinking about how many questions about life I still have. Not just about my future, but about my past. Is there a reason to question your past? Maybe not, but it seems natural to wonder "what if.." every now and then. Don't get me wrong, my afternoons are not spent daydreaming of what could have been, but if it's true that every decision we make (including what to eat for breakfast) has a ripple effect on our lives, isn't it fascinating to ponder the twists life could hold (or did hold) by something we deem insignificant? On the seemingly endless 16 hour flight I was recently on, making my way back from Africa, I watched The Adjustment Bureau. I found this movie to be completely intriguing. Is there a way to control your own fate, or does God have His master plan, and we are merely along for the ride? I like to think it rests somewhere happily in the middle. I know my sister agrees, since we recently discussed this. Although, I can't help but wonder: do we simply enjoy this thought because it's the easiest one to swallow? Or do we truly believe we hold some, if not all, of our fate in our hands?

My first question is this: when we make decisions, do we consider the full effect it will have on ourselves, our loved ones, even our surroundings? Or do we simply make decisions based on the moment we're in, focused solely on the here and now? And if we do use our guts and think things through, how much does it really make a difference? If God has a road map for us, do we get to make pit stops, even detours? Or do we simply THINK we have control, and each decision ultimately leads us back to His plan?

I look forward to hearing answers from you.