I have said that there is no such thing as coincidence. I believe we are all pawns in a cosmic chess game being moved from space to space in each strategic move that our creator has planned. He puts us in the spot we need to help the next person get to their next predetermined spot. What may seem like a choice at the time is really part of a grand plan drawn out long before our actions moved us in that direction to that black or white spot.
God gave me the gift of humor and communication. For some reason I can verbalize emotions and feelings that most people can't seem to put into words. This gift has gotten me into a lot of trouble and also given me the opportunity to stand in front of a hundred people and make them laugh. I have done scenes with William H. Macy, Jennifer Beals, Larry Fishburne and Kate Winslet on film and TV. More importantly, I have also found myself in situations where addicts and alcoholics were at the end of the rope and ready to throw in the towel. Somehow God put the right words in my mouth to make them hold on for one more day.
God speaks through my heart, my mouth and my talents. They are really not mine. He has entrusted them to me to add hope in a darkening world. They are not to be kept selfishly locked away for only me to experience. What has been given to me so freely must be given away. If I did not share the pain of my addiction and depression, then my life was just a twisted waste of space and time here. If one, only ONE, single person gets inspired through some message I spit out, and chooses a different path than the one I chose, then I know I was the pawn placed in the right spot at the right time. That pain and suffering made me the man I am today, not the child I tried to hide inside for a quarter of a century.
Ian McLennon Shipp is a friend and artist in Seattle. He was placed on the chess board of my life today to explain the plight of an artist and the need for him to express himself, no matter what the cost. Some days there is adulation, other days regurgitation at the artist's creation. I personally find Shakespeare excruciating, confusing to read and nearly impossible to comprehend. I also think the Sex Pistols and Ramones were Rock-N-Roll pioneers who are overlooked for their contribution to the arts. Art is in the eye of the beholder.
My wife and I ordered Chinese food for dinner. I don't personally believe in the wisdom and misspelled future prognostication to my future that a cookie fortells. I do open them and read them for amusement only. I must confess I once played the lottery numbers suggested and it got me nowhere. In one cookie the message was "The one you love is closer than you think." The other said "The kindness you once gave a friend will soon be returned." That was some good stuff from the center of a tasty Asian treat. I am sure several other people in the area got that same message tonight in their dinner. I wonder how it affected them. For me it was like more chess pieces being moved to a check mate.
My blog has helped me relive and relieve some of the wreckage of my past. My loved ones are close to me now due to the changes I have made and continue to make. My marriage is stronger than I could ever have imagined. My kids respect me. I have been given many rich friendships that were impossible for me to maintain in years gone by. We all have talents and messages to deliver. Most of the time we don't even realize we are delivering them. That is the awesome cosmic strategy that plays out in the chess match of all of our lives. It's God's game and the next move is His.
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