Everything Is Up To You
I think now, about a terrible list of terrible tropes. It won’t take me long to pick the ones I wish to write about.
“Whatever is meant to be, will be.”
“What is fated for you, is what will happen.”
“Let destiny run its course, and all will be well.”
But hark! What nonsense. These are words of entrapment. Words written to comfort and console, yes. But not words which we find grounded in reality.
Follow these mantras and you may find yourself coasting. Ambling through life, you’ll be aimless and likely purposeless. You might be pleasant or optimistic about your future, but optimism I’m afraid, does not guarantee the life of your dreams.
You. And only you. You have the power to decide where your life goes. Nothing is written in stone. So little is permanent. Anything that appears as such, can always be broken and remade. Do not become an individual who refuses the truth of these tropes. It took me twenty-nine years to accept them. Do not be me.
Soul searching. Thinking. All humans do it. Some find their answers faster than others. I believe now that most answers can be found at the end of long stints of hard work. Hard work will push you. It will teach you that you can do anything. Yes, some things require money. Some things require strength or courage. But within your little sphere — your own wonderful world — there are too many paths for one to simply say: “whatever is going to happen, will happen.” Having goals and aspirations that sit at the end of periods wrought with graft will provide you with insight into where your life could go.
So hear me. Don’t settle. You’ll be waiting years. And years for what? More mediocrity? I know it feels comfortable to wait around. I’ve done it. Waiting for the supposed destiny you’re owed. That’s nice. But remember that in simply doing well at anything. At simply trying hard. You could change everything! Taking action to change existence. Another reminder that so little is permanent.
But first, before you stop settling. Wait. Read on. Know that I write the following words because I hear you. I know what you might be thinking:
I believe entirely in fate.
To this, I say that little is fated. You can have a God. You can have belief. But it is still your actions that shape and change your future. Everything has cause and effect. You think a puppet master is pulling your strings? Friend! That puppet master is you.
You are your own God. You are not superior because of it. But you are the master of your own destiny. “Fate” is what happens when you take action. Action toward a goal. Toward a mindset. A new career. To bettering yourself.
Don’t get me wrong. You can have a God. They’ll be there alright, like a shepherd encouraging a herd. Belief is powerful, but do not confuse reality with the whims of humankind and our pursuit of the powers that be.
Nothing can be fated. If life was already written, do you really think we’d have made it this far? Do you really think we’d have all grovelled and suffered and won and loved for thousands of years?
Everything is up to you.
Now get out there. Create what it is that you so wish. Enjoy the mundane and cherish that which makes you smile. Nothing matters. Everything is sacred. There are no secrets. A tree blowing in the wind is a marvellous thing when the world spins in the way you want it to. And if you do believe in them, the Gods will be watching. They’ll smile gracefully as you stride toward that which you so thoroughly deserve. The hard-earned fruits of your labor.
I see these Gods sometimes. I’m no believer, but I call them my friends. I call them my family. The truth is that I write this, right now, because they told me not to stop.
“6-months to change your life,” one friend said. And you know what? He was absolutely right. Everything is up to me.
~ Samuel Hodges, April 2022, Los Picos De Europa.
