YATTA!

One of the best ways to ruin a movie (or a book, or any kind of story) is to have the ending spoiled. It's almost like there's no point wasting time with the details when you already know what's going to happen at the conclusion. The reason I say this is because, like any person on the planet, I have a reasonable degree of uncertainty in my life, and just like anyone else, I try as much as possible to reduce that uncertainty at every turn. I often find myself thinking "if I just knew how ____ was going to turn out, everything would be okay."

No. No, it wouldn't. That would absolutely suck. The ending would be ruined, and there'd be no point in even trying to get from point A to point B, especially if the ending is (or seems from the current perspective) unfavorable.

Which brings me to my next point: I do believe that the story is written and has an ending. Why? Because I believe in Destiny. I'm talking Hiro Nakamura style Destiny. Why a capital D? Because it's something awesome that you should strive to achieve, and in fact have to strive to achieve, because the concept of Destiny doesn't preclude free will. You've got choices to make, and you have to make them, but they're all leading up to something. "Save the cheerleader, save the world." The world isn't going to save itself, you still have to make decisions and take action, but when you do, things will happen. You're working towards an end, even if you don't know what the end really is. 

Man, if you haven't seen Heroes (or at least the first season), you're really missing out. One of the things I loved most about that show was that they devoted an entire episode in the first season to what was coming five years down the road, and as a result, the characters who've seen it set off to try and stop that apocalyptic future from happening. In so doing, they change a few small details along the way, but over the course of the seasons, you can see the characters slowly start to become the people they had seen in the future regardless of their intentions. In essence, they could alter the path, but couldn't change the ending. 

If you're wondering how destiny and free will can coexist, I don't blame you. I could probably spend another entire post on that subject (and perhaps I will someday soon), but I can sum it up for you like this: it's the same way Jesus could be fully God and fully man. Yeah, try and wrap your brain around that. Doesn't really make sense, does it? No. You either buy it or you don't. Yeah yeah, I'm a Grade A apologist for sure. But hand in hand with the concept of destiny is the notion of purpose. Some people are soldiers, some are medics; some are meant to fight the battles, some are meant to tend to the wounds of those who fight. Me? I'm just here to entertain the troops. But again, I don't think the importance of entertainment should be downplayed. To quote the wise teacher Roger Rabbit, "A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have!" We're not always facing down physical enemies. But I digress.

My point is, life is a journey. Part of what makes it interesting is not knowing what comes next. So if you find yourself wishing you had all the answers and the rest of your life was mapped out, just think of the last time a movie was ruined for you. You don't want to know the end. Half the fun is in the process of getting there. Take each step one at a time, and you'll get where you're going, whether you know where that is or not.