Maybe I’m just a little bit conceited, but I’ve always believed I was destined for great things. The fact that my life has been kind of rough, especially over the last few years, has often bewildered me. Where is my amazing destiny? Have I been wrong to think I deserve a better life? Is this really all there is?
It’s easy to lose heart when life turns out to be a disappointment, when things don’t end up the way you think they should. But some African religions say we don’t have to give up hope—we do have a destiny.
According to the Yoruba people of Nigeria, we all get to choose our destiny in heaven before we’re born. So whatever life you have now is exactly what you picked for yourself.
As one writer explains, “If a person suddenly becomes rich, they [the Yoruba] will say that he chose the right future for himself, therefore poor people must be patient because even if they have chosen the right life, it may not have arrived yet.”
So we choose our destiny, which might sound a bit daunting, but we do get a little help doing it. The Yoruba say there is a god named Ori who watches over the life-choosing process and tries to direct us in making wise decisions.
Ori isn’t just some remote god, either, who supervises our destiny choice and then leaves us to our fate. Nope. Ori follows each of us on our path through life, kind of like a guardian angel. And everybody gets their very own Ori—even the gods and the spirits. None of us is ever alone.
I don’t know if I really believe any of that, but it’s a comforting thought. I like the idea that there’s someone—someone immortal and all-knowing and powerful—who cares about me and wants to see me get all the good things I deserve.
So maybe my fabulous life is coming. Hey—I know myself. I would never have picked this crappy situation I’m in if I didn’t know there was a really big payoff coming later, somewhere down the road. I just have to grin and bear it and be a little patient. My destiny awaits.
No comments:
Post a Comment