"It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices." -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsIt’s interesting to look back and realize that our choices really do become our destiny. It didn’t hit me until midlife but as I hit an age where I do a fair share of looking back (both nostalgically and thoughtfully), I see more clearly how fascinating it is that we end up in this setting , that environment, or some place.
My own life trajectory is (in some ways) easier to make sense of in hindsight. For example, when I transferred from BYU to the U or U after 2 years, I didn’t really have a good reason, but it felt right (in a nonsensical way).
While I’ll never know my life path if I had stayed in Provo, being at the U at the time did enable meeting Brent, a fortuitous event. It’s just interesting to note how small occurrences in life (because of our choices) do send us off on adventures that make huge differences in who we become, where we end up, what we do, and so on.
Actually, author, Ann Patchett, who has written some of my favorite novels (ie. Bel Canto), explains it much better so I’ll just finish with her quote below:
“Coming back is the thing that enables you to see how all the dots in your life are connected, how one decision leads you to another, how one twist of fate, good or bad, brings you to a door that later takes you to another door, which aided by several detours - - long hallways and unforeseen stairwells - - eventually puts you in the place you are now. -Ann Patchett, from What Now?
