Click here to view the embedded video.

At thirty five years of age, I am still coming to appreciate the rich and profound wisdom of this simple saying.  The truth is, what will be… will be.  While this truth may seem so obvious as to be worth no further consideration or discussion, here is why I am coming to value its wisdom as so important in my life:

I can really invest emotional time and energy on thoughts of what may happen.  Unrealized dramas that are sure to unfold.  Terrible injustices that I just know are set to take place.  Heights of glory that I will certainly attain.  And so forth and so on.

I don’t know about you, but when I spend considerable time and energy on what has yet to happen, it leaves me with less available focus and energy to engage well in the moment that is actually before me now.  As my old friend Master Oogway says, “Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  But today is a gift.  That is why it is called the present.”  Man, would I love to hear him sing “Que Sera, Sera!”

May you (mind, body, and spirit) live well in the present as you grow to trust that what will be, will be – and that God will richly supply you with everything you need to respond well to whatever will be.

Good ole Master Oogway just may become a regular contributor here at HopeForYourFamily!  It is obvious that many have been touched by his wisdom and are hungry to be reminded of his profound words, given the tracking history on my site.  (Previous posts on 11/13/08 and 12/28/08)

Today I found myself reminded yet again of the deep wisdom of my favorite cartoon Kung Fu grandmaster turtle, when a friend was sharing how he is gradually learning to challenge his notions of “my life is going good” and “my life is going bad.”

Sometimes, when the pathway is pleasant and carefree, we are headed toward complacency and a condition where we can easily slip from our healthy spiritual foundations.  On the other hand, when the path seems difficult and troubling and painful, this may be the very road that leads us to rich and freeing spiritual growth and contentment.

Or, as the spiritual anchor from “Kung Fu Panda” told us when Master Shifu was all disturbed by some recent “bad news”…

“There is no good or bad.  There is just news.”

You may think this just a bit (or maybe a lot) too new-agey or mystical or whatever.  But let’s put this to the Christian test of the Bible as our standard for truth.

- Jesus challenges us at least five different times in Matthew 6:25-34 to let go of worrying.

- Read Hebrews 11 and hear God’s call for us to have faith in Him, that He has a plan, that He has all power, and that He will take good care of us when our faith is in Him.

- Check out Romans 8:28-39.  Incredible passage!  Just check out the two bookends of the passage, verses 28 and 38-39 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose…For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

- Consider 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, which boldly warns, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”

- Finally, I recommend Hebrews 12 as an excellent guideline for living the Christian life of faith, service, and surrender to God.  At the outset of this passage of practical spirituality, we are given the key to living well, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”

So, thanks again to that wise old turtle for challenging and uplifting me with profound Truth.  As long as my eyes are fixed on Jesus, I am living by faith in the loving care of my Father, and I am surrendering my will to His, then I really need not concern myself with whether an outside event or series of events is “good” or “bad.”  God is good.  He is sovereign (in charge).  He loves me personally.  He has all power.  And He has promised to bless my faithful seeking and service, without expecting me to achieve perfection for myself.

Yeah, life is good.  I know the Good News.  Regardless of today’s news.

In the spirit of Christmastime and the impending new year, it seems appropriate to share another nugget of wisdom from our old friend, Oogway the kung-fu grandmaster turtle.  This quote happens to be my very favorite:

Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  But today is a gift.  That is why it is called the present.

Good stuff, Master Oogway!  May each of us live every day in the beauty and serenity of this truth.

For more Oogway posts, click here: Master Oogway’s Wisdom  and  More Wisdom from Oogway

Our household is in full-on Kung Fu Panda mode right now.  Don’t tell my son’s school teachers or principal, please!  It’s a peace-loving Montessori school, and Kung Fu definitely wouldn’t go over well on that playground.  But, he’s a boy who is about to turn five years old, and I’m his Dad.  And I believe he needs to learn about being peaceful, as well as being a warrior.  After all, Ecclesiastes still says, “There is a time for war, and a time for peace.”  But I digress.

Back to Jack Black and the crew on Kung Fu Panda.  Great show – thoroughly enjoyed it!  Being set in China, it is obvious to me that much of the wisdom shared by the sage in the story, Master Oogway the venerable turtle who discovered/invented Kung Fu, is based on Buddhist philosophy.  This may make some of you really squeamish.  Here I am, this Christian counselor, referencing Buddhist wisdom.  If you need to click away at this point at get some fresh air, go for it.  I’ll never know, nor would I be upset if I did.  Anyway, there are several moments where Oogway offers these great one-liners of wisdom to his protege, Shifu, who is on his way to becoming the grand master.  One line in particular struck me as a profound truth.

Oogway has just shared with Shifu the vision he has had that Tai Lung, the most dangerous and feared Kung Fu warrior in all the land, will escape from his ultimate maximum security prison and return to try and seize the secret to limitless power.  Shifu is horrified and frightened, and he immediately turns to his servant and tells him to send word to the one-inmate prison that they should double the guards and everthing else.  Tai Lung must not be allowed to escape!  As the servant, a crane, flies away in a flutter to deliver the urgent message, Master Oogway slowly turns to Shifu and offers this quiet, yet thunderous, statement,

“One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.”

So true!  I have seen countless situations in my life, my friends’ and family members’ lives, and my clients’ lives when this very dynamic played out with ironic precision.  For example:

- I am so afraid you might cheat on me, so I will hover and interrogate to ensure your fidelity, which frustrates you so much that you slowly pull away from me emotionally and end up going to someone else for intimacy and security.

- I love my child so much that I just can’t bear to see her/him get hurt, so I will protect my child as much as I possibly can, even shielding the child from the painful consequences of his/her own foolish choices, which trains my growing child to become either highly irresponsible or highly thin-skinned, both of which ultimately lead to much greater suffering than she/he would have experienced from those smaller consequences along the way.

- I am so afraid of being rejected for who I am that I will run to the false intimacy of pornography where I get all gratification and no rejection, which then creates huge problems in my marriage or serious relationship, and may even lead my wife or girlfriend to “reject me” because of my emotional/visual infidelity of choosing safe images over her real self.

- I am so afraid of being rejected for who I am that I will constantly badger my spouse with questions and comments designed to elicit reassurance of love, which so burdens and taxes my spouse with the persistent effort of trying to fill my needy, leaking love-tank, that he/she finally quits offering affirmation and may ultimately quit being around me.

Master Oogway would make a great therapist, in my humble opinion.  “One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.”  And, not to spoil the plotline for you, but turns out Oogway is on the money with his pronouncement.  Right on, wise turtle!

For more Oogway posts, here ya go: More Wisdom from Oogway and  Daily Gift