David Bryan Cubing Lao Report Initial Draft

Destination Destiny

All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community had proven to be very true For example, when we're backstage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begin, it doesn't affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire, and envy. The fact is, I can't fool you, any one of you. It simply isn't fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I'm having 100% fun Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I've tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do, God, believe me I do, but it's not enough) I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become. Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I'm too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away. Peace, love, empathy,

Kurt Cobain Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your altar. Please keep going Courtney, for Frances. For her life which will be so much happier without me. I love you. I love you!

-an excerpt from Kurt Cobains suicide letter (Cobain, datejesus.com) Destiny is a very complex concept and each person has his or her own understanding of it. Most people define destiny as having ones future set in stone or having somet hing or someone control the very course of ones life. However, do these definitions exude the truest meaning and essence of the word destiny and the most logical, for that matter? William Shakespeare, an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist (William Shakespeare, Wikipedia.com), thought up destiny like this. It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves (goodreads, goodreads.com). This thought illustrates that destiny is not inevitable, as opposed to the common notion. Rather, it speaks of destiny as something you can control. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines destiny as the things that someone or something will experience in the future (Merriam-Webster, w-m.com). Since what happens in the future depends on what happens in the present, it can be implied that destiny depends on what you do or what you decide to do today. Mahatma Gandhi supports this idea through one of his

statements: The future depends on what you do today (goodreads, goodreads.com). Thus, we can say that destiny is a choice. For example, a person is studying engineering; therefore, his destiny is to become an engineer because of the choice he made to study engineering. Let us say

that this man decided to shift to journalism. Will his destiny still be an engineer? According to our working definition, it would not be. That mans future will result from his present and since journalism became his present, journalist becomes his future. Real-life situations tend to be more complex than that, however, that example was cited just to make you understand that destiny is a result of your choices. Destiny is thus fluid. It changes based on the choices that we make now. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Wikipedia.com), conceptualized the destiny of a person through this statement: The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be (goodreads, goodreads.com). This suggests that destiny is some kind of personal destination and each person decides what that destination will be for him or her and what steps he or she will take to get there. This supports the idea that destiny, in reality, is based upon choices. From what Emerson said, we can see that a persons destiny depends on his or her decisions. So, a person is destined to become a doctor if he decides to become one or if he decides to obey the people around him who tell him to be one. The opposite is also true. As William Jennings Bryan, a leading American politician, puts it (William Jennings Bryan, Wikipedia.com), Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved (goodreads, goodreads.com). This tells us that ones destiny is something that you can accomplish. It is not something that will just happen inescapably. It is something you can and have to work for. A person can only become an accountant if he chooses to study accountancy. His destiny is what he chooses himself to become, and the ways to become what he wants to become is also based upon his choices.

The bottom line there is that destiny depends upon the person and the choices he or she makes, but the question there is, what are the bases for these choices? Human beings tend to attain what is desirable for them; they set a standard for their choices. A certain person chooses a brand of shampoo that passes his standard for shampoos. A woman chooses a lipstick that passes her standard for lipsticks. We base our choices upon a standard. Now with that, there are two types of destinies, depending upon the standard we set for our choices: the self-defined destiny and the God-defined destiny. The self-defined destiny is the kind of destiny wherein the standard for your choices is based upon you. You live your life according to your own principles or according to no principles at all. Take Kurt Cobain as an example. He started out to be a happy and excitable, while sensitive and caring child. At around seven years old, his parents divorced and he chose to react to it by becoming defiant and withdrawn. After some time, his mother granted full custody of him to his father. Cobain's teenage rebellion quickly became overwhelming for his father, who placed (him) in the care of family and friends. While living with the born-again Christian family of his friend Jesse Reed, Cobain became a devout Christian and regularly attended church services. Cobain later renounced Christianity, engaging in what would be described as "anti-God" rants (Kurt Cobain, Wikipedia.com). He decided to put God out of the equation and lived his life according to his own intellect and his own will. That is self-defined destiny, having the standard for ones choices based upon you. Somewhere in the future, he became famous with his rock band, the Nirvana. He began having tours. He began earning millions. He was living the life. But little by little, everything turned upside down. Little by little, all his problems consumed him. And on April 5, 1994, he penned his last note, his suicide note, and took his own life using a shotgun.

Kurt Cobain lived his life according to his principles. He was the standard for his own choices. He had his own timing; he decided what kind of things are going to happen in his life and when they should happen. That is what living in a self-defined destiny means. On the other hand, the God-defined destiny is the kind of destiny wherein the standard for your choices is not based on yourself but on God. My father used to tell me a story about his life, one that would best exemplify the God-defined destiny. Here is a summary of the account: My life started out well enough. My family was complete. I was born wealthy. All my needs were provided for. My father was a smoker and a drinker and would, every night, drink and smoke out with his friends. My mother was a certified addict in gambling and she would gamble every night too. Now when I grew up, I also became addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. I learned how to use drugs (though I only used it once) on my own. I got myself into a fraternity. Sigma Alpha Epsilon it was called; the fraternity that swelled my thighs for weeks due to unmerciful hazing. Soon enough, with my diligence, I became one of the leaders of the group and began to practice (and enjoy) hazing the new applicants. During my time, fraternity wars were a trend and I began to live in constant fear knowing that at anytime, a knife would be stick up to my side or a bullet would give my head a wonderful hole. That time too, my family suddenly suffered a financial crisis so severe to the point that we no longer had any food on the table. Along with that, I failed my exams in college and began to spite my life; I was

directionless. That, until two women decided to share a message to me, a message about Christ. For months, I was skeptical about their message but with their persistence, I was led to believe the reality of the message they brought. Now, I had to make a choice. I had to decide. Will I leave my life of drinking, smoking, fraternity and follow God? Or will I ignore the truth I have realized and continue to enjoy my life of cigarettes, beer bottles and hazing? I came to a point of

decision and chose the former. I received Jesus Christ into my life and began to live out a new life. Now, I am the pastor of the Journey Church in Iloilo City. I became prosperous. I was married and had three children. My life now had a direction, a purpose, and a goal. My father adhered to the standards of God. He started to base his choices upon Gods principles. That is God-defined destiny. It is adhering to the standards of God in every choice that you make in life. It is living by His principles and depending upon His wisdom through His Word. You can think of God-defined destiny as a straight line and each person can choose to either follow that straight line or deviate from it. If a person chooses to follow that straight line, then he or she follows his or her God-defined destiny. But if a person chooses to deviate from that straight line, then he or she follows his or her self-defined destiny. The distinction is very important because of the difference in results. The God-defined destiny leads to this while the self-defined destiny leads to that. Here is a story recounted to me by my father that will best illustrate that: There were two brothers. They were dealers of illegal drugs. One day, someone invited both of them to a Christian event. One went. The other one stayed behind. During the event, the one who went realized the wrongs he had done and decided to change. He accepted Jesus into his life that night. When he got home, he was greeted by a most unfortunate surprise. His brother was dead. He was shot in the head. He was killed by one of their rivals. Two brothers, one accepted Jesus and the other one did not. One followed his Goddefined destiny while the other one followed his self-defined destiny. The first one lived while the other one died. Now, I am not saying that those who follow the God-defined destiny will never die but what I am trying to point out is that, in a world of uncertainties, living by your own

human understanding without the knowledge of anything in the future is fatal. If you live by your own standards, you can never know what is next. As Jim Morrison, an American singersongwriter and poet (Jim Morrison, Wikipedia.com), puts it: The future is uncertain but the end is always near (goodreads, goodreads.com). Living by your own principles rips you off, of an opportunity of having someone guide you in the course of your life. On the other hand, if you live according to Gods standards, there is an assurance that your future will be bright even though it is still uncertain. As Corrie ten Boom says, Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God (goodreads, goodreads.com). The Bible also states in Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. God promises a radiant future for those who follow His standards. That is a promise in the God-defined destiny that the self-defined destiny does not and can never offer. Destiny is not inevitable. It is a result of your choices and a product of your decisions. But since every choice and every decision is based upon a standard, two kinds of destiny come to light: the self-defined destiny and the God-defined one. Self-defined destinys standard is the person himself, his own principles and his own standards. God-defined destinys standard on the other hand, is God; it follows His principles and His standards. However, of the two, only one holds a promise and that is the God-defined destiny. But destiny is a choice and you can choose which destiny you would follow based on the standards. The question is, which one would you choose?

Works Cited Cobains suicide note. datejesus.com. Kurt Cobain. n.d. Destiny. m-w.com. Merriam-Webster. n.d. Jeremiah 29:11. biblegateway.com. Biblegateway. n.d. Jim Morrison. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d. Kurt Cobain. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d. Lao, Norman. Personal Interview. n.d. Lao, Norman. Personal Interview. n.d. Quotes about Destiny. goodreads.com. Ralph Waldo Emerson. n.d. Quotes about Destiny. goodreads.com. William Jennings Bryan. n.d. Quotes about Destiny. goodreads.com. William Shakespeare. n.d. Quotes about Future. goodreads.com. Corrie ten Boom. n.d. Quotes about Future. goodreads.com. Jim Morrison. n.d. Quotes about Future. goodreads.com. Mahatma Gandhi. n.d. Ralph Waldo Emerson. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d. William Jennings Bryan. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d. William Shakespeare. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d.