I have often heard from some, as you may have too, that you chose to be here, on this planet, at this time, in the circumstances you find yourself. And why did you choose to be here? To learn lessons. Do you believe that? If so, I am going to suggest that you are misinformed. You did not choose to be here, you are here by the inescapable results of consequences.
Granted, you may be learning lessons here, but that is not what brought you into this world. What brought you into this world is the inexorable unfolding of consequences. Just as a person may find themselves in prison as a consequential result of their actions, not their choice, so too we find ourselves in this world. We did not choose to be in this world. We are here as a consequential result of actions and deeds from the past. And, just as a person who finds themselves in prison can choose to use that experience to learn and grow, so too we have choices we can make in this world by which we can learn and grow. But, the fact that we have choices now does not mean we chose to be here. Some would say, and rightly so, that regardless of our conditions, be they pleasant or bitter, by being here, and having choice, we are empowered, for it is our capacity to make choices, and enact those choices, that builds consequences.
Consequences are the natural results of actions. The sequence of events which has lead to our present circumstances can go back very far, even long, long before our birth into this material world for, indeed, we are far more than the transient body we inhabit or our temporary personality. We are an active energy system that animates the mind and body we inhabit. That energy system, like all energy, is, according to the first law of thermodynamics, neither created nor destroyed. It only changes form. Energy, as the poet William Blake stated, is 'eternal delight.' The third law of motion, postulated by Isaac Newton, states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, or, in other words, an effect, a consequence. Long before Newton, the law of cause and effect was understood as an underlying force responsible for bringing about the conditions of our experience. You cannot throw a rock into a pond and not have ripples rebounding from the farther shore, returning to its source. Every action has reverberations, consequences. To say that we choose to be in this world in the circumstances we find ourselves is to disregard this fundamental law of cause and effect.
Many people are relatively familiar with the concept cause and effect, or consequence, also known as 'karma,' which is a Sanskrit word meaning 'action' or 'deed.' What is less well known is the Sanskrit word 'phala,' which means 'fruit' as in the result of action. There are no actions or deeds, no karma, without phala, the fruits of those actions or deeds, which eventually ripen - and fall upon us. Yet, despite the commonly understood, and accepted, doctrine, or law, of cause and effect, many well intentioned, though misinformed people, continue to expound that we chose to be in this world with the circumstances which permeate our lives. There are problems with this line of thinking beyond the mere disregard for the law of cause and effect.
For example, if a person suffering with a terminal disease is told they chose that, the presumption is that they can choose to not have that. And when the disease continues, or worsens, the person can feel guilty or ashamed for not choosing health. If a person is born into this world with significant deficits, either physical, emotional or social, or any combination of those three, they may be told that they chose this because they have lessons to learn. When these deficits continue, they can become guilt ridden and ashamed of themselves for not choosing to get better, or not learning their lessons. To say that those interned in concentration camps chose that is to seriously question the mental health of such people. A person would have to be crazy to choose to be placed in a concentration camp, or in a refugee camp starving to death, regardless of what lessons might be learned. It is far more sane to suggest that current conditions, no matter how beautiful or ugly, pleasant or painful, are the ripened fruit of past deeds, past actions. It is accurate to state that we do have choices in the present; we can make choices about the consequential conditions we find ourselves in. One of the principle tenets of Victor Frankl's Logotherapy is that people have the freedom to make choices in which they can find meaning in any circumstance, including the most wretched. People can choose what to think and how to act, and interact, in any given situation.
It is far more compassionate, and accurate, to recognize that although we do have choices in this world, the conditions we find ourselves in, no matter how satisfying or frustrating, are not of our choosing but rather brought on by the law of consequences. We did not choose to be here in this world; we did not choose to be in the circumstances we find ourselves. We are here as a result of consequences. We are the ones ourselves, as a system of active animating energy, that brought on the consequential conditions we find ourselves in, both individually and collectively. And, so often our actions have been, and still are, unfortunately, short sighted, selfish, and even malevolent. Despite that, we do have choices now as to how we interpret and respond to our circumstances, how we behave and communicate, how we live, and love, which then does contribute to future consequences.
The active animating energy that has brought on these consequential conditions, and which underlies our current mind and body, is channeled into action through a mind that is often still heavily conditioned with erroneous beliefs, skewed values, emotional debris and intellectual blockages. Short sightedness, selfishness and malevolence are still quite prevalent in this world. But, we can choose alternatives. That requires a consciousness at least willing to accept the idea of a law of cause and effect, and a consciousness that can delay gratification, for consequences may not, and often do not, arrive immediately. It is not a matter of figuring out what to do, the multi-dimensional cosmic mechanics of cause and effect are unfathomably complex. It is sufficient to act....from the heart.
Ken Fields is a nationally certified licensed mental health counselor. With over 25 years in the mental health field, he has worked as as an individual and family therapist throughout school districts and within communities, a crisis intervention counselor, a clinical supervisor and an administrator in a human service agency. He has taught classes in meditation, visualization, goal setting, self-image psychology, anger and stress management, negotiation, mediation and communication, crisis intervention, and parenting. Mr. Fields specializes in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Family Systems Therapy and Communication Coaching. As a practicing counseling psychologist, Mr. Fields brings decades of specialized training and applied skills to his work. He now provides quality online counseling and can be found at http://www.openmindcounseling.com