Your compass
- "You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny." - Brihadaranyaka
Destiny is an interesting concept, bringing to mind fears of being railroaded by divine or unknown forces into something you don't have any control over, or an ideal of something that happens to you when you realize your full potential. Let's for a moment assume the latter thought.
Let's say you are born in Los Angeles, California and your destiny is symbolically New York, NY. In your progress of growing older, you travel across the United States. You may travel by car or foot, one being easier and faster than the other, though the slower one sees more. You may take any of countless routes, roads, highways on the way. You are may get lost, or find a town you like and settle there without reaching New York. All of these are possible, and illustrate some idea of what a soul's travel toward destiny is like. Is there any one right way to get to that destiny? No. Do you have to get there? Not really. The vast majority of humankind goes through life this way, not really knowing where the final point is, and driving or walking as comfort and need dictates. Enjoy the ride.
However, there are those who feel there is some other purpose, or want there to be, and for those people simply seeking comfort and ease and staying there is not enough. We are restless, not content with the accepted ideals of success (house, nice pay, 2.5 kids and a dog), and perhaps we do understand there is something like New York, but it's far beyond our current horizon. For us, groping for the right path is a bit like driving long distance without a map, compass, and only one tankful of gas for the attempt. And, again, do you have to get to this destiny? No, but if you are at all aware of your personal direction, the last thing you want to do is stand at the twilight of your life and not feel as if you came to a personally significant conclusion.
But you must realize that while you may not have a complete map there in your head, you have that compass already. It may be in bad shape, no water in the chamber, the bearing lines rubbed off and unclear, the needle not very magnetic. But you have one, and it is your most valuable tool on this trip.
One of the best ways to begin using your own compass is to come to understand what your own foundation is. Foundation is unique to every individual, one of the reasons why no one can tell you what your destiny is; you must find that path, as the single soul best able to sense such a thing. As lofty as this sounds, it's not impossible, just work. It's a re-building of the compass within you.
The quote at the beginning of this essay illustrates, simply, the process of building this compass. The layers derive out of each other in a process forward, though separately they are not of much use. Let's apply it to the compass metaphor. If you have a plastic casing with the cardinal directions labeled, it alone will not tell you how to stay in one direction. If you have a needle without magnatism, it's not much good either for that purpose.
Your "deep, driving desire" is the first step. This is what you, personally, want deep down, that has lines into everything you do and say whether you realize it or not. It is likely one of the most time-consuming and difficult things to build an awareness of, for that's what it is, awareness. As you learn to look inward, choose self-truth over self-dishonesty, strip away the camoflage and blocks placed in your mind in response to external influences, you will gradually uncover your deep desire. It's your motivation, as vague as a candle flame but as hot and as bright. Someone might say "my desire is to be rich", but that's a surface desire. Why be rich? For respect? Power? If for power, why is power needed? What kinds of power? What will it fulfill within you? Every answer you get will have a followup, until you reach your basic desires and understand something of what the fiber of your being is trying to do. As you learn this, you will be creating the bearing marks of your compass casing, noting your directions and the degrees of them, as your soul sees them.
But then knowing is only the first step. Knowledge is useless unless it determines your action, and there's still a layer of this foundation before you take action. Your Will is the key, the energy that fuels actions based on these desires. It is the conscious choice to do something. It is one thing to come to an understanding of who you are and what you want, but making that decision to take charge and do is far more difficult than it sounds. Remember, on this trip there are many side roads and towns and comforts, any one of which you could divert from. If you know your desire, you will know what does not fulfill that desire, but the Will is what stays the temptation to distract and take other choices, either because the way ahead looks dark and difficult, or you are procrastinating. And, more importantly, when the road is dark, the Will will keep you going until you can see again. Is is the magnetism of the compass needle, pointing the way and showing the best choice for your desires.
When desire and Will come together, then you are ready to take steps on the road. Your deed is just that, the actions you make in accordance with knowing your desire and having the Will. Locked together into this compass of your own making, held firmly in hand as you move forward through life, you progress surely toward your destiny.
The key thing to keep in mind here is that no two compasses are alike; they do not have the same directional marks on them, the same sensitivity of the needle. Standardization of cardinal directions is necessary when coordinating the movements of people on earth, but you are the only one in your world, so using someone else's idea of a compass is futile. Their compass is for their destiny, not yours. You can no easier say that two people have the exact same compass than you can say two people are exactly alike. The beauty of individuals is in the differences.