“The adventure of life continues. As much as I plan and dream and try to anticipate every outcome, I will never know what lies around the next corner or down whatever road I choose to take. That's the exciting and frightening reality of life. I wouldn't want it any other way, however. As a Mormon, life was forced to fit into a master plan. Everything had a reason and a purpose. Screw that! Give me chaos and uncertainty. It's much more fun.”
I ran across this quote in a letter the other day. It was actually an old letter from 2006 and not even addressed to me. But I was organizing and it caught my eye. It is the typical conclusion of an exmormon. And without the bit about life as a Mormon, not really a bad observation on life. Something about really stuck a chord with me.
I see so many of my friends and the people in my life try to control, not only everything in their own lives, but in the lives of their friends, neighbors and family members. And, not surprisingly, they are unsuccessful and often unhappy because of it.
I'm not saying one should just give up on life, but there are times when circumstances will be beyond your control. There will be people in your life you can't help or save. There will be people in your life who don't want your help or saving. There will be accidents, there will be mistakes, there will be tragedies.
For a long time I have tried unsuccessfully to put into words how I feel about this, even in typing this post I have gone back and deleted more than is actually written in the final product. But as much as I try, I can't seem to do better than a 28-year-old convicted felon facing release from prison.
Quote by Trevor Bowen, May 30, 2006.
