Free Will and Free Willie

"Man proposes, but God disposes."n Thomas a Kempisn nIt was winter in New York. I was working for a major corporation on Wall St. nI found it necessary to take a week off. I went to the Virgin Islands to swim nin the warm water of the Caribbean sea.nnI choose to stay in a small, quiet and inexpensive hotel by the ocean away nfrom the crowds and shopping areas. My room was on the first floor, just a few nfeet away from the waves. There was a restaurant right by room which was very nconvenient: I could eat, sleep and swim all day without having to travel. I nalso thought that the chances to meet anyone I knew in that environment were nnone. There would be no one to bother me, and certainly no Wall St. executives nwould come to the hotel.nnI was looking forward to have my first shrimp cocktail. As soon as I arrived, nI dropped my suitcase somewhere in my room, dropped my winter clothes, put on nmy bathing suit and rushed to the restaurant.nnI was free, at last, unfortunately only for a week.nn "The greatest power God gave us is the power to nchoose.n We have the opportunity to choose whether we nare going to actn or procrastinate, believe or doubt, pray or ncurse, help or heal.n We also choose whether we are going to be nhappy or whethern we're going to be sad."nn Lou Holtz,1989nnnFor me, one of the greatest earthly pleasures is to have a good meal in a nrestaurant by the ocean: this is exactly what was happening. As I was savoring a nshrimp cocktail, and anxiously waiting for the broiled lobster, I noticed a nman and a woman had arrived and sat at the bar. I was so involved with my meal nthat I did not look at them but, somehow, I noticed the man was persistently nlooking at me. When I decided to look at them, I gave them a smile and went back nto eating my shrimp.nnIt took me a while to realize that I knew the man. But, by that time, he got nup from his seat, came around, sat next to me, shook my hand and said, nnervously:n"Odete, I never expected to meet you here. As a matter of fact, I told my nfriend not to worry; I was choosing a hotel where I was sure I would meet no one nI knew."n"Well, well, Willie," said I," I'm surprised to meet you here, too."nnSince I was not sure if his female companion knew he was married, I ncommunicated with him psychically, "Willie, Willie, what are you doing with your life? nThis is not your wife."nAlmost instantly, he introduced me to his female companion who was also very nnervous.n"I'm having lots of problems with my marriage,"said Willie,"My Wall St. job nis a mess. But I'm free to choose and ready to make changes. I really needed a nbreak. My family knows nothing about my whereabouts. Please, Odete, don't tell nmy wife. If you do, you will cause great problems in our family."nnWillie did not have to worry about our encounter. I told him I had not spoken nto his wife for a long time, and had no intention of calling her.nnn "Take away free will and there remains nothing nto be saved.n ...Salvation is given by God alone, and it is ngiven only ton free-will; even as it cannot be wrought nwithout the consent n of the receiver it cannot be wrought without nthe grace of the giver."nn St. Bernard, Treatise nConcerning Grace andn Free Will, c. 1128nnClassic Indian teachings mention that our lives are 75% predetermined by our npast, and 25% free will. The thought of predetermination makes a lot of people nangry and uncomfortable. They think that God has completely taken over their nlives: they find it hard to take responsibility for their actions; past, npresent and future.nnALL ERRORS WE MADE IN THE PAST CAN BE CORRECTED NOW. THIS IS WHY WE ARE nENDOWED WITH FREE WILL WHICH LEADS TO SALVATION.nnIf we do not use our free will, the past will continue to rule us. We may not neven be aware of the damage we are doing to ourselves. Plato, in the nRepublic, Book X (620) refers to each soul passing "without looking back under the nThrone of Necessity."nnApparently, it is necessary for all of us to come to earth to correct n"something."nnWhat could it be that needs correction besides hate, fear, anger towards our nneighbors, family, friends, enemies? What could it be that everyone fears, but nmost of us do not have the courage to face?nnCould it be that the more we think civilization advances, the more we try to nrun away from the thought of God; a unified energy that exists within all of nus? Could it be that it is necessary for us to come to earth in order to learn nto return, and therefore save ourselves?nnEVEN OUR JOURNEY HERE IS OUR CHOICE. GOD IS GENTLE; HE ENDOWS US WITH FREE nWILL TO CHOOSE.nnWillie, like all of us, was aware of his power to choose, but he was not naware of the real reasons, as well as, the necessity to choose.This is the great nmystery of life on this planet. This is also what makes life interesting.nnAll of us try to run away, in order to find our way. We are in need of ncorrecting "something," but we do not know "what". We are all in need of going n"somewhere" but we do not know exactly "where."nnI found out, years later, that Willie never separated from his wife, and was napparently still married to her.nnIt is true, then, "that man proposes, but God disposes."nnWillie and I will always wonder about our encounter. It was our choice to go nto the Virgin Islands. Was it our choice to meet? And, if so, why?nnThe mystery of life goes on.nnnArticle written by:nOdete M. BigotenCopyright November, 2003nn