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| Destiny and the Challenge of these Times by David LaChapelle A man emerges from the trenches of world war I, blinded by a gas attack, and surveys the surrender and dismantling of Germany's once proud armies. He strikes a bargain with the forces beyond him that if his eyesight is restored he will lead Germany back to its former glory. A man stands upon a battle field as an artillery shell falls before him. Instead of the shell exploding an eerie calm descends upon the man. His assumption is that he has received a divine calling. A man who was tyrannized by a fundamentalist preacher as an adolescent, inhaled books of all kinds, had severe migraine headaches his whole life and was an owner of slaves, pens the founding invocation of our nation, "we holds these truths self evident that all men are created equal." A general has a compelling sense that his life mission is to fight a war in the mideast, this understanding informs his actions and guides his successful career as a military officer. While in Vietnam he dreams he will be wounded and in fact is wounded the next day. He goes onto lead a major engagement in the mideast. In August of this year a woman has a dream in which the events of 911 are clearly and unmistakably shown to her. Days before the attack upon America a man dreams three nights in a row of the World Trade Center collapsing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hitler went on too lead Germany into its postwar strength. The consequences of his leadership would not have been possible if hundreds of thousands of people had not given over to the peculiar charisma of his Faustian bargain with fate. Osima Bin Laden translated his battlefield calling into a compelling challenge of our time. Thomas Jefferson holds the pen to parchment that launches our nation with the inescapable paradox of his life: all men are created equal and he yet lived as if they are not. General Schwarzkopf lived out the destiny he sensed since a child by becoming the commander of chief in the Gulf war. How is it possible that events that will occur in the future are known before they occur? What is the basis of prophecy? And is their perhaps substance to the predictions of the Maya and other indigenous peoples that the time we are living in is the end of this age? September Eleventh marked the transition of a world order. Suddenly simmering pathways of actions long planned, both here and abroad, burst into fruition. Ancient sects of assassins suddenly found their way into the present moment. The strategic training and arming of foreign fighters by our own government returns to our soil. What role does destiny play in the unfolding of events? This a question that looms large in my contemplation of these times. For in understanding such lines of destiny we can perhaps come a way of being in these times of such change. Destiny does not appear in some guises as grace. How can a moment's calm on a battlefield become the trigger event that enables a man to invoke death as divine right? Destiny does not come in easy packages. Thomas's Jefferson's paradox of purpose is an explication of this truth. If we have begun a war, that has already been in motion for decades behind the lines, then perhaps we have joined in the currents of a destiny that is beyond our limited capacity to understand. If the attack on America is detailed in a dream a full month before it takes place what does this truly mean? These times require of us a willingness to inquire beyond the obvious. For if we let the forces that would annihilate who we are wrestle destinies mantle from the river of history then we stand the likelihood of a great difficulty. What is the destiny of these times? This is a compelling question that I know, from the core of my being, to be a crucial one to ask. Do I have an answer to offer? Not yet. But I can invite the inquiry as way of determining the most correct response to the challenges before us. The Maya believe that there is a pulsation of creation mediated through the sun that helps shape and mold our human affairs. The Hopi understand that our existence is embedded in a cycle of human relationship to a creative principle that is continually being tested for its authenticity. How then shall we live in a time of ripening destiny if indeed this occurring? This, I believe, is a crucial question to be asked. Our ability to deepen into the core of our individual destiny is, I know from my own life, central to the unfolding of our life. Do we have individual destinies? I believe yes, we do. Consult any mother who has a substantial connection to her child and you will probably find that she has a feel for the unseen forces acting upon that life. There are trajectories of Possibilities that seem to guide our lives. When the destiny of our age is ripening a feel for our own individual trajectory is perhaps useful. If we are to answer the events of recent days in a way that speaks of great substance Sense of destiny may be useful. What is it that we are each truly called to embody in our lives? Our most compelling response to the attempt to turn destiny towards death may be to find the deepest current of our own. How? Consult the nature of your own life and ask a very simple question. Am I living out all that I can truly be? Have I dared to bring through my life all the gifts that I have been given? What are my excuses? If I was faced with my own death have I given all that I can give? The answers may just help heal this world.
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