destiny

The dictionary describes Destiny as “the hidden power believed to control what will happen in the future; fate.” Do you believe in fate and destiny? Perhaps we believe that requires…

Ever since Eddie Edwards was a child (Tom Costello Jr.), he desperately wanted to be an Olympic athlete, despite health challenges and the nonstop criticism of naysayers, including his own father (Keith Allen). But Eddie was not deterred by these obstacles; he was determined to see his dream realized, especially when his health improved as a teen (Jack Costello). He tried his hand at many sports, though not with much success, prompting even more ridicule from virtually everyone except his mother (Jo Hartley). He seemed reconciled to spend his life working as a plasterer like his dad – that is, until he discovered winter sports.

A week before Kate Mercer (Charlotte Rampling) and her husband, Geoff (Tom Courtenay), are about to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary at a grand party in their honor, they receive a letter revealing some upsetting news about one of Geoff’s former loves, a woman he knew before he married Kate. This news truly troubles Geoff, reminding him of a devastating loss from long ago. But the effect of this development is compounded when it becomes apparent just how much this decades-old tragedy has impacted Geoff throughout the years, particularly when it comes to the nature of his relationship with Kate, both now and throughout the course of their marriage.

In 2005, decorated New Jersey police detective Lt. Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore) was living the good life. Her career was going well, she had just moved into a beautiful new home and she was enjoying her relationship with the love of her life, Stacie (Ellen Page), with whom she had formally established a domestic partnership under the state’s recently enacted law governing such arrangements. There were some trade-offs, such as Laurel’s belief in the need to keep her lifestyle secret for career advancement purposes, but, on balance, everything seemed to be going well. That all changed one day, though, when a nagging pain thought to be a pulled muscle turned out to be something far more serious – Stage IV lung cancer.

Janet Conner is a writer, speaker, teacher, retreat guide, and radio show host with one compelling message: what you seek is within. Her landmark book Writing Down Your Soul is still the top book in the journal writing category six years after publication.

Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) is bored by her life. As a twenty-something Tokyo “office lady,” she sees herself stuck in a dead-end job. She quietly detests the demands and intrusiveness of her condescending boss, Mr. Sakagami (Nobuyuke Katsube), and the incessant phone calls of her nagging mother (voiced by Yumiko Hioki). She’s even loath to address such everyday activities as keeping up her apartment, collecting her mail or spending time with a onetime acquaintance, Michi (Kanako Higashi). In fact, the only things that seem to give Kumiko any pleasure are caring for her pet rabbit, Bunzo, and her pursuit of an unusual hobby – treasure hunting.

A heightened sense of self-awareness is often accompanied by the realization that we each have a destiny in life. Even if we can’t always pinpoint what we’re supposed to accomplish, many of us nevertheless have an undeniable sense that we’re supposed to achieve something during our terrestrial visit. But, once we begin to understand what we’re meant to do, it’s up to us to carry through on our objectives, even if we don’t know precisely how. That’s particularly crucial when our time runs short, a concern not unlike that faced by a supremely gifted but seriously challenged protagonist in director Luc Besson’s new metaphysically themed action-adventure, “Lucy.”

Destiny is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things. Nothing will happen until you make a commitment to make it happen

What I am today is the result of all that I have done. What I become is my choice. I am the creator of my destiny