In a magical, almost childlike world that pursues destiny, Cring takes today’s podcast to comically shed light on the beauty of free will, and having the power of making our own wonderful plan for our lives.
TRANSCRIPT
“You ask too many questions.”
She had this little German accent. Probably not as big as I just acted out. It was more like, “You ask too many questions, you will make God angry.”
Yeah, that’s closer, even though my German accent blurs with my Irish and Swedish.
I was only ten years old. I was sitting in Sunday School class with this immigrant. I didn’t really care that she was an immigrant—I just threw that in to appear controversial. She had spent the entire Sunday School class explaining to a bunch of impressionable American kids that God has a plan for everything, that everything must work out in His plan, and that even the ant in its hill knows God’s plan.
Well, this seemed weird to me. Even at ten years of age. Because here’s the truth: I’ve never seen an ant at a prayer meeting. I’ve never even seen an ant at a meeting. I’ve never run across a depressed ant off in a corner with two or three other ants encouraging it to get back to pushing the peas around.
Nope. Ants got this thing figured out. “This is what is available for me to do. I need to do it well, or we’re not going to have anything to eat.”
I just did not buy her story. After all, I would be very pissed off if my EARTHLY father put together a plan for the rest of my life. And if people found out he did such a thing, they would call him an asshole. They might even suggest that I go to court and try to get emancipated so my life could be my own. Yes, all in the same paragraph in American lingo, you will hear the following:
“My life is my own. No one’s gonna tell me what to do. So I’m just patiently waiting to find God’s will and discover my destiny.”
What??? Just last week somebody asked me, “Do you know what God’s will is?”
I said, “Yeah, that’s easy.”
They looked at me, alarmed. “Easy??”
I said, “Yeah. God’s will is free will.”
If you don’t know that—if that has not rattled around in your brain and become a permanent fixture in your thinking, it’s probably 50% of your problem. Because as a ten year old boy, if I had believe my little German-accented lady, I might have pulled up short of opportunity, with that silly question, “I wonder if this is the right thing to do. I wonder if this is God’s will. I don’t want to jump on board with this and end up missing something God has for me that might be better.”
I think when your daily work schedule involves the operation of 730 trillion planets, He might welcome a little assistance—like, by you and me motivating our own lives.
You see, you have a past. It’s historical. Hopefully, it was hysterical. It’s already established. Your retelling of it might be a little different than the rendition from your enemy, but somewhere, someone can tell it straight, because it happened.
You are dwelling in the present. Matter of fact, let’s be honest. The present is all that pertains. Whenever we try to gain revenge from the past or an advantage for the future, we always end up holding our dick in our hand, whistling Dixie in a black church.
We’re not geared for it. We’re not set up to take care of vendettas from the past while we simultaneously try to manipulate the circumstances of the future.
Because here are four words which I hope will change your life:
You have no future.
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Don’t get me wrong—I’m not prophesying your death. I’m saying that nothing has been determined. Beyond the 3.3 seconds it takes to say this statement, which has now extended to 5.6 seconds, NOTHING IS SET IN STONE.
There aren’t even blueprints. God does not even have a wish list for you.
Because what kind of Dad would He be if He controlled your life? I already said I wouldn’t put up with that from my Earthly parents. And Jesus did not say that God is just a little worse that your dad who lives on Maple Street.
Jesus was pretty blunt about it. He said If your dad is an evil man compared to God, then won’t God give you better things than Daddio?
There is no destiny awaiting you. You have to stop living off of this rotten bread of “You were born to do or be something.”
So therefore I have no choice?? I can’t alter my course?? I can’t pursue the concept of being born again?? Becoming a new creature?? I’m stuck in the muck?? Out of luck?? Just one big fuck??
Ouch. No thanks.
I don’t know. If I believed that I might be tempted to take an early exit, or at least buy a really, really comfortable chair and spend most of my time there.
You—me–we’re blank canvases. So grab some color. Get your brush into it. Manipulate the picture. Determine your own portrait.
So at the end of the day you don’t have to shake your fist at God or grumble about your neighbors. The choice is made—good or bad—by you.
That’s why you must not dwell on the past. Memories are a nice place to visit—just don’t take an overnight bag.
I always know we’re headed for trouble at a family gathering when they pull out the old photo albums. I’m not talking about the digital pictures on the Internet. I’m talking about the old Polaroids.
Because you quickly discover that people in the room become enlivened because they’re allowed to go back to the place they really stopped. There’s a picture of how they really remember you—and quietly they’re saying, “I don’t really want to get to know the new person. I like the old one. It’s better.”
It gets sad after a while. Nostalgia starts out wearing a festive hat and ends up in brown prison clothes. We’re not meant to go backwards.
Likewise, we must never worry about the future. Because worry robs us of the hope that we can affect something. God damn religion for telling me that things are set in stone when they’re really still fluid and could be changed if I was allowed to be in the game.
That’s why you must focus on the present. You must develop a sense of humor—yes, truly, a sense of humor about how limited that makes you feel.
In other words, “You mean I just have today? You’re not going to count yesterday? And there’s no possibility of me finishing up tomorrow?”
It can seem a little confining. But what’s worse is when the clock crosses midnight and the future is now your present and it doesn’t look any different from yesterday’s present, which is now the past and doesn’t look any different from yesterday because you spent your time yearning for the future.
Why is the present so important?
Why do I need all my faculties?
Why do I need my nose pointed in the direction of what is in front of me?
Because obstacles and blessings—let me say it again—obstacles and blessings stumble across your path and will alter your journey. The power you have is that if you’re looking for them, you can steer them toward solving your problems instead of creating new problems.
So what should your profile be?
“Since the past is gone and reflecting on it only makes you seem old and decrepit, and the future is yet to be achieved, then carve out a beautiful present with the confidence that your present effort will carry LONG shadows.”
Oh My God.
What I do today splashes down like a meteor from outer space onto tomorrow. So since it is going to do that, I need to steer—and land my daily efforts onto a safe place for tomorrow’s possibilities.
Yes, what you do today certainly paves the way for the possibilities for tomorrow. That means that last half hour at the end of your evening is so important—to chalk it full of appreciation and gratitude.
Look at the summary of the day and always make sure you end up with a sum total that’s in the plus instead of the minus.
Just that energy carried into the next morning will create doorways.
Because here’s what you need to remember. Here’s what I need to remember. Here’s what Jesus Christ had to remember when he was on Earth.
Don’t spend so much goddamn time thinking. Your brain is a bear trap, and if it closes on you it is a hellish thing to try to escape.
Contemplation is over-rated. It takes us to places where we pout, or worse, doubt—instead of thinking about how we care by becoming aware.
You are not a mess. You’re not confused. You’re not cursed. Your destiny is not less or more than anyone else’s, but rather, waits to be unleashed by the faith you use in the present, to plant seeds for tomorrow.
Listen to this. Get quiet for a second.
You are precisely where you are. No amount of thinking, complaining, lying or cheating is going to change who you are and where you are right now.
If you just killed someone, you are presently a murderer. What you do with that next will determine your future.
If you just donated six hundred million dollars to charity, that’s where you are right now. That action was set in motion to help steer you, by selecting your future with your own free will.
For your past has taught you, your present embraces you and your future awaits you.
So here’s the good news: God does not have a wonderful plan for your life. He has give you a wonderful life for your plan.
And the better news is, God has packed His bag to go along with you, with both summer and winter clothes.
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