Put Your Behind In Your Past

My personal philosophy about destiny is based on beliefs that the past cannot be changed, and the future holds a myriad of possible outcomes. You exist in your present, which is the nexus where your immediate future is becoming your immediate past. Your present holds your focus of awareness. You can and should learn from your past, but the past has become known and unchangeable. The future is uncertain until you get there. In this way, your future is what you make of the present as it becomes your past. We each control our actions within the limitations allowed by our lives at present, which is ever moving into our future. And so we guide our destiny. The point in time and space from which we steer our lives onward is the present that we have steered ourselves to... The progression of our lives in time is continuous and time never stops no matter how badly we'd like it to.

To me, the knowledge that we can visualize and work to achieve future goals validates the belief that we control our destinies. Along with our knowledge of achievements made because of decisions we deliberately made.

This, in part, is why I have little sympathy for the "poor, poor, pitiful me" mentality. If someone isn't trying to make the best of their life, well, they aren't likely to have a very good life. Plain and simple. If someone is caught up in feeling sorry for themselves and trying to get others to feel sympathy, they are only working to prove their failure. They need to move beyond the "why is this happening to me?", stop blaming it on life's misfortunes and start asking "what can I do to make the best of my future?". And then do it! Carpe Diem - Sieze the day! Count your blessings, not your misfortunes. Be ready to grab the opportunities that life is willing to offer. The attitudes and outlooks in your present affect your future. Positive thinking or negative thinking ... which do you want to carry you into your future?

Sometimes bad things happen that we cannot do anything about. Or that we wish we had. That is part of life. And some problems cannot be fixed. "Could-a, should-a, would-a" will never fix them. If we're smart, we learn from the things that happened, good and bad. We do what is needed to move past bad feelings and regret. To deal with our sorrows and remorse. We prepare ourselves for bad happenings, as best we can. Sometimes good things happen too. And these things need to be welcomed and recognized. Do you live for better times? Or are you too caught up in the bad to even see them?

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One of my favorite acts from the script of Walt Disney's The Lion King...

[Hakuna Matata Scene]

Camera switch to Pumbaa, Timon, and Simba near a pool of water in an oasis. Simba has been laid near the water. Timon splashes some water in Simba's face. Simba stirs.

Timon: "You okay, kid?"

Simba: "I guess so."

Pumbaa: "You nearly died."

Timon: "I saved you."

Pumbaa snorts at Timon

Timon: "Well, Pumbaa helped."

Pumbaa stands a little taller

Timon: "A little."

Simba: sadly "Thanks for your help."

Simba heads quietly back out towards the desert.

Timon: "Hey, where you going?"

Simba: "Nowhere."

Timon: watching Simba, talking to Pumbaa "Gee. He looks blue."

Pumbaa: "I'd say brownish-gold."

Timon: "No, no, no. I mean he's depressed."

Pumbaa: "Oh."

Pumbaa trots up to Simba

Pumbaa: "Kid, what's eatin' you?"

Timon: "Nothing he's at the top of the food chain. Ahhhhh - ha ha ha ha. The food cha-haain. Heh heh." realizing his joke flopped "Ah - ahem. So... where you from?"

Simba: "Who cares? I can't go back."

Timon: "Ahh. You're an outcast. That's great; so are we."

Pumbaa: "Whatcha do, kid?"

Simba: "Something terrible. But I don't want to talk about it."

Timon: "Good. We don't want to hear about it."

Pumbaa: to Timon "Come on, Timon." to Simba "Anything we can do?"

Simba: "Not unless you can change the past."

Pumbaa: "You know kid, in times like this my buddy Timon here says: You gotta put your behind in your past."

Timon: "No, no, no."

Pumbaa: "I mean..."

Timon: "Amateur. Lie down before you hurt yourself. It's: You got to put your past behind you. Look kid. Bad things happen, and you can't do anything about it, right?"

Simba: "Right."

Timon: "Wrong! When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world!"

Simba: "Well that's not what I was taught."

Timon: "Then maybe you need a new lesson. Repeat after me." clears throat "Hakuna Matata."

Simba: "What?"

Pumbaa: "Ha-ku-na Ma-ta-ta. It means: no worries."

Full song, no fade in except Marimba chords

Timon: "Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase!"

Pumbaa: "Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze!"

Timon: "It means no worries,
For the rest of your days!"

Timon and Pumbaa: "It's our problem-free,
Philosophy..."

Timon: "Hakuna Matata!"

Spoken section over background music

Simba: "Hakuna Matata?"

Pumbaa: "Yeah; it's our motto."

Simba: "What's a motto?"

Timon: "Nothing! What's a motto with you? Hahahah..."

Pumbaa: "You know what kid? These two words will solve all your problems."

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My own Hakuna Matata has a slightly different meaning. When the world turns its back on you, you seek the best in you. The world doesn't decide who you are, you decide what your world is. Look to the future for hope. Don't forget the past, learn your valuable lessons from it and move on. Your life is what you make of it. What you end up with depends on what you bring. Aspirations and a good dose of levity never hurts...

OK, who wants to be the first to tell me that I was predestined to write this...?