the_gentleman

A bit of food for thought I've been passing around lately. This actually came about on the way to my casa with the girl.

The Puritans believed in divine predestination. A belief introduced (or credited to) John Calvin. It was the belief that your souls' position in eternity is decided before your birth into this world. Meaning that despite your best efforts and actions, the fact that you were going to Heaven or Hell was already decided. You could do nothing to change this. The only way to have an inkling of an idea, just a hint of a clue, of your destiny, was to take a look at your position in life, your character, and your life as a whole. If you naturally lead a good life, there was a chance you were one of the few destined for Heaven.

Honestly...I see this thinking as more than ridiculous. The only positive I see coming out of such thinking is the laid back, "Fuck it, I can't help it, so I'll enjoy it while I'm here" attitude.

Now, enter the common modern take on relationships and "The One". The belief in "The One" is to say that a person believes that before they were birthed into this world they had a compatible soul birthed to spend their life with as "lovers".

...Predestination.

I subscribed to the theory of "The One" for quite some time. It's a romantic and great thing to imagine that there is one person you're destined for, and to think that against all odds you would meet them and invariably spend the rest of your lives happy with. This influenced my relationships...I thought, "If it's meant to be, it'll work out". However, I've realized through much thinking that relationships, like everything in life, are what you MAKE them. There is no waiting for destiny to take hold. On the flipside, there is no need to force things. I think it's a balance. Anyway...it's less romantic and enchanting and whatever...but it's much more likely. I don't live in a fairy tale.

All that said...I do believe that because of personality, character, physical attraction, and positions in life, a person is made to have only a select few people around them that are candidates for more than a little fun or a fling here and there.

Anyway...I guess I just realized that I was saying "You can't think that way about this over here...but you can apply that thinking to this over here."

Something to think about.


I'm burnt out on work. Haven't seen the girl for more than half an hour this whole week. And with a girl just quitting and another guy switching departments...things aren't looking great for my schedule to come. Fuck it...I'll push through and be fine.