Kismet: It’s All Good…
“I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.” Rita Mero
Kismet: It's All Good
Part I – Kismet: It’s All Good…
Kismet means fate/destiny. Providence; external circumstances, outside influence, divine intervention.
Typically, when the subject of fate/providence comes up in conversation, we find two schools of thought vying for attention; those who believe fate carries much weight in our lives and those who believe the idea of a destined life is arrant nonsense. It really doesn’t matter which school of thought you belong to as long as you understand that, ultimately, your point of view is not irrelevant in the great scheme of how the universe operates. We are what we think… We become what we believe…
When we think about events in our lives, we might wonder how many of them are/are not based on external circumstances; our upbringing, our family history, other influences like friends and education. We might even ask what role divine intervention and character play in the unfolding of our lives. While I won’t pretend to have all the keys to the door, I do believe that we are not victims waiting to be wrestled to the ground and carted off by our destiny. We have a measure of freewill and can choose to respond to difficult or mundane situations with courage, hope and a positive spirit. But, there is a mystery to this business of destiny and self determination…
Today’s prompt from the Daily Post posed a provocative question: Does everything happen for a reason?
For now, let’s look at one of two events:
The Appointment in Samarra by W. Somerset Maugham
Death Speaks:
There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, “Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.”
The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, “Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?”
That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.
Is the servant, on his way to Samarra, contributing to his own demise by acting in fear? or is he simply on his way to embrace what he can’t avoid? A student in one of my classes once said: But … we don’t know yet what the outcome will truly be…
The good that might come of this event could be for those who learn the deeper meaning of the story. What are your thoughts? Que sera, sera?
Tomorrow, I will share another story. In the meantime, here’s a little poem from John Wesley
Do All The Good You Can – By John Wesley
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
As long as ever you can.
These are John Wesley’s Rules for living… Everything happens for a reason; sometimes, the reason is apparent and at other times it is vague. Either way, whether we accept it or not, life never completely reveals all her answers for whom the bell tolls.
Positive Motivation Tip: Believe in the greater good; even our dark hours can shed some light on good…
Could fate be on your side for an exotic vacation? Head to JustLuxe [“Trips of a Lifetime”] to enter.
Related Articles
- John Wesley’s 12 rules for Preachers remix! (kenn-iskov.blogspot.com)
- Sam and Dean Have an Appointment in Samarra in Episode 11 of Supernatural (dreadcentral.com)
PHOTO CREDITS: Endeavor Launch by Robert Garrett via National Geographic
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Trackbacks
- The Big Picture: Will We Ever See It? « Positive Parental Participation
- Kismet: A Single Garment of Destiny « Eof737's Mirth and Motivation
- Kismet: A Single Garment of Destiny | The Blog Farm - A Growing Blog Community
- Reflection: Money Can’t Buy You Time… | Mirth and Motivation
- Reflections: Money Can’t Buy You Time… | The Blog Farm - A Growing Blog Community
- Reflections: Money Can’t Buy You Time… | The Blog Farm
I like John Wesley’s rules for living. BTW, lovely picture of a night launch.
Thank you Donna, I was captivated by the shot too… So crisp and clear. John Wesley’s writings are so fresh and timely. 🙂
As I said once before…I could follow just your blog and I would feel satisfied.
Everything happens for a reason has been my daughter’s mantra for over a decade (she is 30 now). And I do believe it as well. As I write this, the idea for MY post for tomorrow suddenly comes into my mind…your writing must have opened the door. 🙂
The sentiments are mutual… I loved your post on the subject you chose! 🙂
“The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.” (Rita Mero) – frizz: at least we hope so…
I doubly hope so… after all what else will we have otherwise! 🙂
E
For me it all begins with acceptance.
For many years I struggled with the fact that ulimately, we are all heading in the same direction regardless of whether or not we believe that we have the power to wite our own life’s script; or we believe whether our lives are pre-ordained.
Once I’d accepted this unavoidable fact, I was able to bring myself back to the present and learn to enjoy the ‘now’, as after all, this is really all we have anyway.
These words from the Sufi poet, Rumi, helped me to put the prospect of death into perspective;
“I died a mineral, and became a plant. I died a plant and rose an animal. I died an animal and I was man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying?”
I love Rumi too… Yes, it would help our world a lot more if people stopped to think/remember the interconnectedness of all life. 🙂
E
This is a message to chew on for a long while. I agree that whether we know the reason or not, stuff happens.
The Appointment in Samarra is a haunting story and one to make us think.
The ego believes it is the doer and yet there is a higher power.
This is powerful work.
B
The ego believes it is the doer… that we would all remember this one profound point. Thank you! 🙂
E
Hi Elizabeth,
In my post today, I reference your post and give the URL link to it…now I’m thinking that perhaps I should have asked your permission first. 🙁 Please let me know if it is ok, or if you would rather I removed the reference and link. I just love your posts so much, I wanted to share them with everyone. 🙂
No worries… Permission not needed. We all do it when we like a post and it’s fine.
Thank you very much! 🙂
Eliz
Hi! Great post, I believe things definitely happen for a reason and am often living proof of that fact!
Becky
Me too… Glad you are keeping up with your posts too Becky 🙂
What a post! Truly enjoyed this one – some thought-provoking words there to mull over!
I love the poem at the end. I think I need to handwrite that out and pin it up in my room somewhere… 🙂
Yes, I liked that one too… short, sweet, ans wise. Thank you! 🙂
E
I agree with many other commenters, very thought provoking post! I suppose I’m sort of ‘agnostic’ when it comes to fate and destiny. I would stubbornly like to think that I can at least steer my life gently- and the story of the man riding the horse to Samarra reminded me of something I learned in a college Philosophy class. Embarrassingly, I can’t remember who said it, but the gist of it was this… You can’t tell if a person has lived a good life until that life is over.
Ring any bells for anyone?
I think we would all love to steer our lives gently… Sometimes it seems so easy to do and then… the mystery part kicks in. 🙂
First off, as a self proclaimed “storm chaser” (hah, not really. I’m just really fascinated by that stuff) I LOVE that photo you used in today’s post!
And an interesting topic.. I’m not sure if you watched the show Lost, but it had a lot of similar themes like that.. science vs faith, coincidence vs fate. Do things happen for a reason… such philosophical views…
Thanks for the feedback… No I haven’t seen Lost but will look for it. I am fascinated by the subject because parts of it seem quite elusive… 🙂
E
Hah, actually, I just hovered over the link of the image, and it said endeavour launch! So it’s not even a tornado as I originally thought, but the “aftermath” of a spaceship launch! haha
LOL! It’s all good…
E
Thank you Vivian… I need to get back on Twitter and do more tweets for our team. 🙂
E