The Forces of Destiny

Do you believe in free will, or destiny/fate?

I suppose that I believe in both. To me, free will is like the shoes we put on our feet every morning, and destiny is that unseen force that occasionally comes in and makes us step in one direction or another, pushes us back, or carries us forward. Although it may not be productive or practical, I often think about how my life would be different if I had or hadn't done one thing or another. For example, if I hadn't created this blog:

A. Would I have been exposed to the world of health blogs and bloggers, where I have learned so much?
B. Would I have met one of my favorite people ever, Stephanie?
C. Would I have attended a free concert last night, put on by the Louisville Orchestra, called The Forces of Destiny?

The answer to those questions is probably no. I would have missed out. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have met other people, or done other things, but I wouldn't change the present at all. A member of the Louisville Orchestra stood in front of the audience last night and told us a brief version of her life story and how every major event seemed to somersault into the next. It was as if her life was a puzzle and the pieces were coming together perfectly. Some people aren't so lucky. Their puzzles are broken into thousands of pieces, or they don't fit together well, or sometimes the puzzle doesn't get finished. As a person who likes order, I aim to keep the pieces coming together as they should, but sometimes that unseen force will come in and blow me off track for a while. That's ok...that's life.

Last night the Louisville Orchestra put on a concert called The Forces of Destiny. One of my readers, Leah, is a flautist for the LO and recommended that I go (thanks Leah!). We heard pieces by three composers: Verdi, Mendelssohn, and Dvorak. The Dvorak piece was by far my favorite: it was Symphony No. 9, Op. 95 in E Minor, aka The New World Symphony. Dvorak composed the piece during a visit to the United States in the late 19th century. It's absolutely stunning and if you appreciate classical music, I recommend a listen. I'm contemplating putting it on my iPod so I can zone out during a long run or walk in the park some day. I found THIS youtube video of the Boston Brass playing the Largo movement, check it out!

The Forces of Destiny are currently urging me to go eat breakfast so I'm off. Have a great day!