THE MASTER PLAN

Most, if not all of us are acquainted with the delightful adventures of Alice in Wonderland. We have read about her explorations, we have viewed them as cartoon characters and seen them come to life on both the big and little screens. Take just a moment and revisit with me one of the characters Alice came across during her wondrous adventure.

ALICE: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here?
CAT: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
ALICE: I don’t much care.
CAT: Then it doesn't much matter which way you walk.
ALICE: So long as I get somewhere.
CAT: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.

As Lewis Carroll so startlingly brought to our remembrance, there are a mass of us living in our own wonderlands who find their current situations a result of chance, having walked the path of fate. This ‘just keep on walking,’ which will lead to that ‘somewhere’ attitude, seems to be prevalent in all of the social strata of the world. We find people bounced hither and thither by fate on every level of the economic, educational and social ladders. Likewise, we find them in every nation and among every race and creed.

One of my favorite authors, Dr. Seuss was also aware of the abundant part of the earth’s inhabitants who are adherents of the ‘succumbed to what fate does to me’ cult. His understanding of this phenomenon is expressed in his delightful poem about the Zode who stood in the middle of the road.

The Zode in the Road

Did I ever tell you about the young Zode,
Who came to two signs at the fork in the road?
One said to Place One, and the other, Place Two.
So the Zode had to make up his mind what to do.
Well…the Zode scratched his head, and his chin and his pants.
And he said to himself, “I’ll be taking a chance
If I go to Place One. Now, that place may be hot!
And so, how do I know if I’ll like it or not?
On the other hand though, I’ll be sort of a fool
If I go to Place Two and find it too cool.
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue!
So, maybe Place One is the best, not Place Two,
But then again, what if Place One is too high?
I may catch a terrible earache and die!
So Place Two may be best! On the other hand though…
What might happen to me if Place Two is too low?
I might get some very strange pain in my toe!
So Place One may be best,” and he started to go.
Then he stopped, and he said, “On the other hand
though….
On the other hand…other hand…other hand though…”
And for 36 hours and a half that poor Zode
Made starts and made stops at the fork in the road.
Saying, “Don’t take a chance. No! You may not be
right.”
Then he got an idea that was wonderfully bright!
“Play safe!” cried the Zode. “I’ll play safe. I’m no dunce!
I’ll simply start out for both places at once!”
And that’s how the Zode who would not take a chance
Got no place at all with a split in his pants.

From my own personal observations, it seems that the most joyful among us are not those who have resigned themselves to whatever fate might be impose upon them, but are those who have faith in a master plan, designed by God, which they deliberately and consistently strive to understand and follow.

Just a few random thoughts about coming to understand the plan of faith and putting it into practice rather than being tossed to and fro as a victim of fate:

First: We all need to conduct frequent and searching personal introspections. Not trusting alone on our mother’s version of how wonderful we are, but with candidness throw off those fantasies and view ourselves as we really are with all our scars and imperfections.

We might ask ourselves:

Have the paths I have trod led me to greater happiness?

Are there things which I could change which would result in me being more joyful?

What abilities do I have which could be used to bring greater happiness to those who surround me?

Second: I must strive to remove the shackles of the past, whether those bonds are shiny or dim, living in past glories or failures will stymie my ability to face today and determine the path my future will take.

We must remember:

Memories of the past are wonderful and instructive as long as we never allow them to cause us to stagnate in the present and alter our ability to find happiness in the future.

Life’s passages should be used as building blocks and never allowed to become anchors or chains which will hamper our growth.

Memories which bring happiness and give me a desire to do better should always have precedence over memories which bring sorrow and stifle progress.

Third: I must become determined that I will never arrive at a level of comfortableness where I feel I have finished growing and coming to an understanding of life’s purposes.

As a reminder:

Our progress demands stretching our limits and being willing to move outside our current imagined boundaries.
Being in a rut is the same as being in a grave with both ends knocked out.

It is only through the vision of faith that we will be able to make choices which will allow us to see beyond the horizon and put us on paths which will bring us to a higher state of happiness.

Finally: We need to organize our lives so that in all our doing we will set apart time for designing patterns which will help us move closer to our full potential.

Truths discovered:

A task well planned will save hours of frustration, retracing and correcting false starts.
Happiness is a result of foresight not hindsight.

Flying by the seat of ones pants will invariably lead us to undesirable results.

We are living beings, and all living things which cease to grow will eventually die. One of the saddest things we witness in life is to witness one who has through despair or discouragement, thrown in the towel and died in spirit while their bodies continue to function.

May the Lord bless us that we might realize:

This life was designed as a place for growth.

Real growth is based on faith in the Master’s plan and not left to whatever fate might greet us at the end of each path we chance to take.

Our true happiness in this life and the next depends on our being about the business of understanding that plan, and through it, becoming all that we possibly can become.