During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, “I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself.”
He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the general, “No one can change destiny.”
“Quite right,” the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.
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moral: we make our own destiny, sometimes we need encouragement to believe in our selves or to have someone believe in us. You can’t change the spots on a leapard, but the choices you make, can change your destiny,
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To a woman who complained about her destiny, the Zen Master said, “It is you who makes your destiny.”
“But surely I am not responsible for being born a woman?”
“Being born a woman isn’t destiny. That is fate. Destiny is how you accept your womanhood and what you make of it.” Replied the Zen Master.
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food for thought
the choices we make, not the chances we take, determine our destiny!
10 comments
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November 30, 2011 at 4:31 am
willowdot21
Fate is my master destiny I have made a friend of.
November 30, 2011 at 5:30 am
Cindi Pugliese
Sometimes what we believe is our destiny is nothing more than the hopeful belief that we chose well, only until our life crumbles because the choices we made were not really what was destined but were of our own design.
November 30, 2011 at 7:37 am
Writer Jobs
Great post thanks. I really enjoyed it very much.
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November 30, 2011 at 11:14 am
Fergiemoto
Confidence, like in the first story, has a lot to do with what a person’s destiny will be. I like the lion – he looks so regal! Thanks for this inspiring post.
November 30, 2011 at 1:26 pm
zumpoems
Loved the differentiation between Destiny and Fate!
November 30, 2011 at 4:34 pm
granbee
“One link at a time”–thank you for being so “Churchillian” with this post. Just love the two-headed coin, for that is what we are each dealt: how we spend it, entirely another matter!
November 30, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Savira
Great post Both are needed in one’s journey… how we deal with it is entirely in our own hands!
December 1, 2011 at 11:39 am
Janece
Love this! I love the balance of it…the combination of “Those things that I cannot change” and “The things that I can”.
We just need the wisdom to know the difference.
Thanks, Wiseman!
March 7, 2012 at 5:38 am
the wise warrior « zendictive
[…] related zendictive story: the general […]
January 31, 2013 at 3:11 pm
WordsFallFromMyEyes
Ah love it, just love it. THAT’s a general.
I’ll give you a heads-up, men, we’re going to win today! 🙂