Saturday, October 6, 2018

I Love Y'all!: Response to Anabella'a "Auras" Post

I absolutely loveeee when I read the blog and laugh! Right on, y'all! <3 For some reason, the blog wouldn’t let me reply to y’all’s hilarious string of posts!!!
Although I cannot unequivocally say that I believe in auras, I find it fascinating to envision red and blue (which together create my favorite color, purple!) auras surrounding me. Furthermore, I'm a sucker for quizzes (now and always). 
I don't read my horoscope on a daily basis (to be honest, it scares me!), but I know I’m a Gemini. And...I'm twin!!! So I can't help but be somewhat intrigued.
I’m torn. Here’s why.
ON ONE HAND, I can’t help but agree with Ritchie. Free will IS far more comforting than predestination. Everything I strive towards hinges on the idea that “what I put in” is “what I will get out.” Obviously, everyone grows up in a different environment, but I firmly believe that if you give 100% every day, you will create your best self. We should recognize that we are privileged to have the life we have and should attempt to fully take advantage of the benefits we enjoy and give back to our community. At the same time, people who “start from the bottom” are often those who come out on top. Why do these advances happen? Perhaps it’s luck—maybe sometimes. But I’ve learned that most people succeed because of something different. They succeed, not because of the tools they were given, but because of what kind of life they chose to construct with those tools. My grandpa grew up in Price Hill, Cincinnati, in a household in which money was scarce. At a very young age, he contracted TB and missed an entire year of school. The only reason he received treatment was because his aunt was a nurse. Moreover, he didn’t learn how to read until the 5th grade! But he used a combination of his quick wit, amiability, hilarity, intellect, and athletic prowess to transform his life. In high school, he became Class President, and the MLB tried to recruit him. He turned down their offers because he knew a different life awaited him—one that didn’t involve home runs and glory but, instead, involved self-fulfillment and intellectual gratification. The University of Cincinnati awarded him with a football scholarship, which helped my grandpa kick-start his academic career. While in college, two things molded the rest of his life. He tried to win my grandma’s heart by swallowing a goldfish (he claims he was trying “to impress her,” but he soon realized he’d have to try harder than that!), and he uncovered his geologic passions. One of the reasons Oedipus Rex is so tragic is that none of the characters have the ability to shape their own destinies, and at first, some of them believe that they do. If we lived in a world in which everyone credited the stars, planets, or Greek gods as dictators of our Fate, how would anyone have hope? How would humanity progress? The lack of free will would be tragic, indeed. That said, although I do believe in God, I also think that He gives us control over our actions and the ability to change our lives. I see what I perceive is free will in action every day. (I’m not trying to start any sort of religious debate. I just mean that I don’t think the belief in God or other gods rules out the possibility of free will. In Oedipus, it kind of does, but in other religions, the same doesn’t always ring true.)
ON THE OTHER HAND, I consider myself a person who feels emotion deeply—sometimes on a level logic cannot explain. There are certain aspects of my personality that I simply can’t control, and I experience certain immediate connections to people that I can’t explain. Some people say their Mind guides the majority of their actions, and others believe that their Heart is the boss. WHAT GUIDES YOU??? YOUR MIND OR YOUR HEART? A one word answer will suffice! I want to know! My Heart ultimately guides me, and its dominance is not something I can consciously control. As a result, I don’t think free will and conscious choices are the sole determiners of our Fate. The world is not as simple as some depressing (although interesting) philosophers would lead you to believe. Still, there’s no shame in loving fortune cookies, auras, and horoscopes—I do!
I’m confident that the world’s mysteries will never cease to intrigue me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jess! This was such an intricate and well done post that truly provoked thought. The idea of fate vs. free will has been an important, arguable topic since seemingly, the beginning of time. I think it's even more important and interesting to reflect upon the relevance of this topic while reading Oedipus, the King and researching the significance of Ancient Greece. Philosophy was one of the major influences that Ancient Greece has had on the modern world. Figures like Socrates and Plato provoked thought in the minds of all of humanity, and their work is beyond relevant. There are also psychologists like Freud and Jung that I've written on in the past as related to Oedipus. It is clear that through the mastery of writers like Sophocles, there is a direct link with the same provocation of thought that philosophers in Ancient Greece were so akin to.

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