Do pure chance and accidents lead our lives or are they filled with deep purpose and destiny? This has been the question posed on our minds while watching the films Grand Canyon, Ground Hog Day, and Dickens's Christmas Carol. How large a role do the cosmos play in our everyday lives? Do they even care about our fates? Even yet, do these so-called cosmos, higher power, or whatever one might chose to call it even exist? If there's not an ultimate source guiding us and giving our lives' meaning, then what are we working towards? Why are we even here? Why were we born? Why do we die? What in the world are we supposed to do with the time in between? There are so many more questions and even more theories on how to answer them. The films mentioned above and their corresponding stories hit on a few of these theories as I will discuss in further detail.

Both the story of Gilgamesh and the film Grand Canyon deal with a "loss of innocence". In the film, the cosmos don't seem to care all that much about Mac when he is almost robbed on the street corner of a bad neighborhood. Lucky for him Simon shows up just in the nick of time and after a life threatening talk wi

Like Mac, Gilgamesh also was forced to come to terms with death but in a different way. In Mac's case its hard to be sure what role the cosmos played, while in Gilgamesh's tragedy the cosmos were directly responsible as they struck Enkidu with an illness which took his life. He is overtaken with grief for his friend but also for himself because he realizes he too will someday die. As Mac did, Gilgamesh now looses his innocence as he "falls into the consciousness of mortality".

Scrooge was not so quick to welcome his spiritual awakening with open arms. He most definitely didn't ask for it or want it for that matter. Like Phil's endless repeating day, the spirits forced their way, uninvited into Scrooge's life, forcing him to take a step back and evaluate his actions throughout the years. The ghost of Christmas past made him take close look back at his childhood and adolescence, not unlike Augustine's first stage, and examine past events as they were retained in his memory. Although his past memories didn't fully affect him seeing his present and future sure did. He saw the horrible toll his actions were taking on those around him. Even more frightening though was the future, where he saw he would die with no one to love him because he had not allowed himself to love anyone. He realized he had to change in order to make things right. This realization exemplifies the Augustinian theme which says, "knowledge of God occurs through self-knowledge." It was destiny and fate intervening which allowed Scrooge to acquire self-knowledge and thus convert into the better person he always had the potential of being.

The final comparison is between Augustine and Ebenezer Scrooge. The main similarity found with this pair being that they both undergo a kind of conversion. Also, in comparison to Buddha and Gilgamesh, Augustine too goes on a quest for mortality and meaning. Augustine does find an answer as did Buddha and as does Scrooge also. I found that Scrooge and Augustine are the most alike of all the comparisons thus far. Both men were blinded and seduced early in life by what the world could offer in power and wealth. They both came across some form of divine intervention, which caused them to desire wisdom and yearn change in their lives for the better. Linear time is also comparable between the two men. Augustine divided his life into seven stages, which mainly consisted of three parts of his life. The first three stages, infancy, childhood and adolescence, all took place before he reached the age of nineteen. The next two stages, awakened and seeking wisdom, begin at age nineteen. Then finally at age 31 comes finding wisdom, which is only followed by the final stage, death, "the beginning of eternal life." Although he does seem to think there is meaning to be found, the seven well planned out stages of his life don't leave much up to chance. Scrooge's experience with the spirits who aided him in finding newfound meaning in life was also divided into three parts, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Each showed him parts of his life he might've forgotten or had not yet been aware of in hopes he would convert and be a better man. One of the differences between Augustine and Scrooge involves the circumstances leading to their conversions.

Both men finally reached enlightenment. Buddha sought it out and as had been predicted by Asita at the time of his birth, became a great world savior when he reached enlightenment. Although he did die, he "did it willingly having brought salvation to the world" in his final entry into Nirvana and liberation from all death and rebirth. This had been his

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gilgamesh Augustine, Hog Day, Day Buddha, Unlike Buddha, Scrooge Augustine, Alan Watts, Mac Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh Enkidu, Christmas Carol, Buddhism Nature, meaning life, hog day, ground hog day, ground hog, loss innocence, life meaning, buddha gilgamesh augustine, role cosmos, mac gilgamesh, death mac, meaning purpose, reached enlightenment,
Approximate Word count = 2462
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)