Life is a bunch of accidents...
Bobbi
Salma Hayek Interview with Oprah, 2003
"Life is a bunch of accidents that happen to you and somehow you survive them by taking advantage of them and then something magical happens and voila! You have the beginning of your dream.
But the accidents are the result of an intention - an intention created from a dream you are passionate about. So passionate - so strong is your passion -that the energy of it fuels your intention. And when it becomes so strong that not even the Universe can deny it, that's when the "accidents" take place.
The double-edged sword, the element that makes it all happen - that binds it all together - you have to be okay if it doesn't happen!
It's the excitement of the possibility of the adventure of the nothingness.
You must be willing to trade what you have - that may look great but feels wrong - for this nothing that could be something. It's the excitement of having the courage to leave behind what you have for the possibility of what could be.
You must be able to let go of what you have. You must not need it or let it define who you are. You must be okay without it AND you must be okay if the nothing turns into that - just nothing.
You become okay with the decision simply because you made the decision!
It's the act of leaving what isn't supporting you for the possibility of something better that makes you like yourself more for simply making this decision."
Access: Public
money
February 2008 
Although I think this is a great way to look at the universe and fate vs. destiny I think I have to disagree. I think that most of us live by default, meaning that we live accidentally - whether we meet our intentions or not, it can be a slow and painful way for some to live. Others might find the adventure in it. But what if we started living by design. Planning ahead, and following a map. Would that get us to where we really want to be? Would we be able to change our journey if we decide that it really isn’t what we want? I think so. If we say to ourselves that we don’t really know what we want, I think we need to explore deeper issues - do we really NOT know or is there something that is keeping us from saying the truth. We can be honest, make the decision, decide to plan and follow and be happy or not be happy with the outcome. But, when it is all said and done we were in control the whole time, not walking blindly waiting for something to happen.
Yes there are things that happen unexpectedly to us, we can’t really plan for these things, but they shouldn’t necessarily keep us from continuing on our path, our journey, our road to our dream.
I agree with her on a level, I need to find the courage to leave behind the security of the job I hate and pursue the career that I have always wanted - but that is my internal issue not one of aimless wandering.
Thanks for the article, interesting perspective of Salma’s. I admire her as an artist.
Hi Bobbi, I really resonated with Salma's words. I wrote so much in response that I didn't want to clutter up your blog, so I posted it on mine.
Here's an excerpt..
Hi Bobbi, I like the last sentence especially… It's the act of leaving what isn't supporting you for the possibility of something better that makes you like yourself more for simply making this decision.
Wow. I can really relate to that, and I think it is a call to action necessary for the survival of the human race. I think these type of decisions are imperative for us to be fully functioning human beings, to fulfill our missions here.
Now, I'm both incredibly lucky or incredibly idealistic or a bit of both - I made a decision like this recently and I say I am lucky/idealistic because I couldn't NOT make the decision to leave what was no longer supporting me, despite the fact that my former situation may have looked great, but felt wrong as Salma put it. More here…