The Stars Above
Prelude
And if only one thing had happened differently: if that shoe lace hadn't broken; or that delivery truck had moved moments earlier; or that package had been wrapped and ready, because the girl hadn't broken up with her boyfriend; or that man had set his alarm and got up five minutes earlier; or that taxi driver hadn't stopped for a cup of coffee; or that woman had remembered her coat and got into an earlier cab, Daisy and her friend would have crossed the street and the taxi would have driven by. But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives, out of anyone's control - that taxi did go by, and that driver was momentarily distracted and that taxi hit Daisy and her leg was crushed...scene from 2008 movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Have you ever sat back and contemplated what your life would've been like, if just one different event occurred...your lifestyle would have substantial changes. Let's take myself as an example. If I didn't resign from the H.F.D. (Hamilton Fire Department) after six years and instead, stayed "on the job" for thirty years...complete change.
If my E.A. (Executive Assistant) would have followed through on the position as a police officer (she was offered the job) with the O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police)...complete change.
If a very good friend of mine would have answered yes to a question in his final interview with the Toronto Police Department (he was already fitted for his uniform)...complete change.
It's very obvious all of our lives would've turned out completely different. Isn't it strange how the smallest incident or circumstance can have so much capability in a person's existence.
Here is an example of my own destiny, if I wasn't transferred to Station #3 from Station #1, if I decided not to take that E.A. (Educational Assistant) course at Mohawk College and turn down a part-time job at H.P.H. (Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital) and later on decline a full time position at H.P.H., I would have continued working as a firefighter.
The following is my own fictitious episode of destiny and how things do interconnect.
Just as a man was leaving his apartment to go to a bar his telephone rings...it's his brother and they talk for a lengthy time. When the conversation is over he leaves his dwelling. Since it's a warm and pleasant evening he decides to walk to the bar. When he finally arrives, the lounge is closed due to a hydro problem. He chooses to go to another bar and "flags down" a taxi but the driver says he already has a fare to pick up but radio's him another cab,
Fifteen minutes later his taxi appeared and he sits in the cab. The man realizes he forgot his cigarettes at home and asks the driver to stop at a store. En route to the bar they encounter a water main break and the cabbie has to take an out of the way detour. The man finally arrives at the bar only to see a line up of patrons. He stands at the end of the line behind two women and "strikes up" a conversation with them.
Eventually all three of them walk into the bar together...the bar is extremely crowded. The man continues to talk to the one woman and they "hit it off" for the remainder of the night. Within a week they're dating and a year later they get married . Fifteen years of marriage and three children later the couple divorces.
Think about it, if one of those events didn't occur, if the man's brother hadn't phoned, if the man would've gone to his second choice bar originally, if the weather was inclement, if the first bar was open, if he decided to go home after finding the bar was closed, if the first cab wasn't already taken, if the man didn't smoke, if there wasn't a water main break, he would've entered the bar at an earlier time and not stand in line behind his future wife, he would've never been married and had three children and worst, become divorced. It's amazing how timing plays a vital role in everyone's lives.
Timing is very important, just not in sports but life in general. If the quarterback didn't overthrow his receiver, the receiver would have caught the ball for a touchdown. If a driver hadn't "run" a red light he wouldn't have been in a traffic accident five minutes later.
Life is full of ups and downs and surprises...some good and unfortunately some bad. Is it fate that people are dealt certain cards in their lives that will determine their future? Some people believe in the theory, everything has a reason and there's a reason for everything. I used to believe that principle but then I ask the question, why are innocent people, especially children given a death card or serious illness...have they conducted their behaviour in such a harmful and sinful manner their destiny will be complete misery. If somehow, the theory is true, why did my E.A.'s niece pass away at 13 years of age or why did my very good friend's son be diagnosed with schizophrenia a few years ago?
Or how about myself. If some other couple would have adopted me rather than my parents, my life would have been completely different...different friends, different schools and a different upbringing.
There is so much evil in the world and sadly it will continue. Did you ever think about what the world would've been like if certain devilish people had one or two things change in their lives. Let's use Adolf Hitler (1889-1945?) for example. He was highly interested in art before entering World War 1. He produced hundreds of works and sold them, trying to make a living during his years in Vienna, Austria, 1907-1913.
At that time Vienna was one of the most important centres of art having the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts School. Hitler applied twice to the school but failed the academy's art admission test. He also had a big enthusiasm in architecture but couldn't pursue that dream without his high school diploma...he never graduated.
So is it safe to say, if he would have passed the art admission test or had his high school diploma, would Nazi Germany have ever existed and World War 2 occurred...some historians think there was a very good possibility of that happening...we'll never know.
As you probably noticed, I put a question mark beside Hitler's year of death. I don't think it's improbable he escaped to South America (as many other Nazi's did) hours before the Red Army swarmed Berlin in 1945. Five will get you ten, there had to be some sort of escape plan in place. On the flip side, some historians stated Hitler's health wasn't good...he was suffering from Parkinson's disease, so maybe he accepted the defeat and fall of the Third Reich and chose to commit suicide. There are a few theories about when and where he died.
Let's talk about people who died at a young age...specifically soldiers who died in combat in the last century. What if, simply put, they didn't die in conflict. The service men returned home and became married, had children and their children had children, all kinds of new life is produced and family generations are created...more people who's fate would be a mystery.
Epilogue
We can't go back in time or change history. Sometimes I ponder it would be entertaining and enjoyable if we could jump in a time machine and travel back to the past, but technology hasn't managed to build one...yet. However it is reality how different incidents and individuals dictate how our lives will be determined. If it isn't fate or destiny, what could it be?
The End
The Harvenut Puritan Project
Puritan will return with "Disenchantment"
