Thank you so much Graham for sharing your story and your thoughts! What an adventure!! The orient express is on my husband’s bucket list!
My move to Canada definitely changed my life and was probably one the most powerful decisions I took so far. I do go back to France often enough (going there next month actually!) and seeing my close friends is always a reminder of how much predestination is present in our lives. I could have written when I left 20 years ago how their lives would turn out and I have to say I would have been 90% correct (if not 99!).
I believe it is fine to live a life very much aligned with one’s upbringing. The challenge I have is when it is done on autopilot and that no decision becomes a decision. From the career you have, to the matrimonial status, the city you live in, the activities you do, I am always mesmerized by how similar and homogeneous people’s lives are compared to their family of origin. To your point we have free will, but how much do we really exercise it? It is one thing to once in a while exercise it and go in a different direction than the stream but how about using it all the time?! And maybe it will bring us at the exact same destination, and it is fine but we would have exercised our personal power. As always thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience!!
The three months I backpacked through Europe was a study in Karma. We didn't have too much of a plan, other than to start in Amsterdam. From there, we almost literally drifted. There were certain things on our "must-see" list of course, but timing meant nothing.
Case in point: we missed the train from Vienna to Salzburg by five minutes. Not a big deal -- there was a train to Salzburg literally every hour. So, we sat down to wait. But as we're gazing up at the list of trains, we notice that The Orient Express is leaving for Budapest in 10 minutes. It was a famous train of course, which drew our attention. But this was 1991 and just a few years before, the thought of being able to go to Soviet-influenced Hungary was almost impossible. We didn't think about it for even a second. We ended up spending a week there with a very kind family, and learned more about that culture than we could have imagined.
If we are built from our experiences, then exposing ourselves to experiences like this will help shape us. So I would argue that we have free will in some ways. But it's not every day you have the luxury of being able to hop on the Orient Express on a whim. And, let's not forget that you need to have the predisposition and the financial means (among other things I'm sure) to plop yourself down in the Vienna train station in the first place.
The fact that most of us have to work and most of us tend to work in the country we grew up or in a similar culture, then yes, our experiences to a certain extent are predestined, which means in turn our paths are somewhat predestined. But if you can break the path/experience loop, as you point out, you have a chance to change your destiny -- at least as far as your personality will let you... lol
I imagine you see this yourself, moving from France to Canada as you have. Somewhat similar cultures, relative to the wide spectrum on Earth (Canada was made in part from French culture!), but different enought that it probably changed you in some ways. How do you think you and your life are different because of the move?
Thank you so much Graham for sharing your story and your thoughts! What an adventure!! The orient express is on my husband’s bucket list!
My move to Canada definitely changed my life and was probably one the most powerful decisions I took so far. I do go back to France often enough (going there next month actually!) and seeing my close friends is always a reminder of how much predestination is present in our lives. I could have written when I left 20 years ago how their lives would turn out and I have to say I would have been 90% correct (if not 99!).
I believe it is fine to live a life very much aligned with one’s upbringing. The challenge I have is when it is done on autopilot and that no decision becomes a decision. From the career you have, to the matrimonial status, the city you live in, the activities you do, I am always mesmerized by how similar and homogeneous people’s lives are compared to their family of origin. To your point we have free will, but how much do we really exercise it? It is one thing to once in a while exercise it and go in a different direction than the stream but how about using it all the time?! And maybe it will bring us at the exact same destination, and it is fine but we would have exercised our personal power. As always thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience!!
The three months I backpacked through Europe was a study in Karma. We didn't have too much of a plan, other than to start in Amsterdam. From there, we almost literally drifted. There were certain things on our "must-see" list of course, but timing meant nothing.
Case in point: we missed the train from Vienna to Salzburg by five minutes. Not a big deal -- there was a train to Salzburg literally every hour. So, we sat down to wait. But as we're gazing up at the list of trains, we notice that The Orient Express is leaving for Budapest in 10 minutes. It was a famous train of course, which drew our attention. But this was 1991 and just a few years before, the thought of being able to go to Soviet-influenced Hungary was almost impossible. We didn't think about it for even a second. We ended up spending a week there with a very kind family, and learned more about that culture than we could have imagined.
If we are built from our experiences, then exposing ourselves to experiences like this will help shape us. So I would argue that we have free will in some ways. But it's not every day you have the luxury of being able to hop on the Orient Express on a whim. And, let's not forget that you need to have the predisposition and the financial means (among other things I'm sure) to plop yourself down in the Vienna train station in the first place.
The fact that most of us have to work and most of us tend to work in the country we grew up or in a similar culture, then yes, our experiences to a certain extent are predestined, which means in turn our paths are somewhat predestined. But if you can break the path/experience loop, as you point out, you have a chance to change your destiny -- at least as far as your personality will let you... lol
I imagine you see this yourself, moving from France to Canada as you have. Somewhat similar cultures, relative to the wide spectrum on Earth (Canada was made in part from French culture!), but different enought that it probably changed you in some ways. How do you think you and your life are different because of the move?
Great post!