Ah, the age old question: Do we have free will or are we just puppets in a punch and judy show? Well the truth is that it’s a bit of both really. (I promise you this is not a cop out!)
It is such a fundamental question about our lives, which countless people ask on a daily basis, and yet it is probably one of the things we’ll never know in our corporeal forms. I, for one, occasionally wake up bruised and scarred from the events of the previous day. But does that mean that my fate should leave me scarred and always and in a state of disrepair? In fact the opposite is true. If you often wake up dreading the daily grind then maybe it’s about time you stopped fate in it’s tracks. After all, do you want your fate to be that of someone who always wakes up on the wrong side of bed?
With this in mind there are two ways of further looking at this whole argument.
Firstly, is your fate, to you, so mundane to you that all it involves is the daily slog and nothing more? No enjoyment, no fulfillment, and no satisfaction with your actions? Do you live each day because you have to or is there a deliberate demeanor to which you act? If your fate is sealed, then what more is there for you to do apart from just go with the flow? This would also mean that there is little that can be done about the future except let it happen.
Lets face it thats not the most productive way to live your life. In my experience, this kind of thinking leads to an innate laziness and a tendency to procrastinate heavily.
The second way it to percieve this is that fate exists but that you are not at its mercy. Fate is a force we cannot control, however we can always determine what we choose to be in this moment. I choose how to perceive where I am right now and what to do with what has been bestowed on me. I can choose consciously what decisions to make and do what we feel is right for me. When faced with something, I can choose to deal with it as a challenge and to make the most of it, or to do it half heartedly.
It’s not always easy to choose the latter, in fact, it is always the more difficult of the two. To be productive and proactive is never a quick coast down a hill. It’s more like being on a escalator walking up the stairs, you’re making the effort. And an unseen force is giving you a helping hand.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting way of looking at things. I do sort of believe in fate but reading over what you’ve said has made me think a little. Nice blog by the way!
This is a cool way of looking at things. I have to do an essay for school that is titled “Destiny vs. Choice” and this entry has sparked some ideas for it!
Thanks.
Hi Danielle! Glad to hear it. If you want to chat more about it you can just email me or post another response. It’s pretty similar to the chicken and the egg debate. To be honest I think it’s one of those things we’ll never find an answer to but it’s always makes for a lively discussion. The best angle to approach this subject from is which way of thinking serves you best?!
Twitter: amitsodha
to me god has a plan for all of us which is our destiny. You may make a choice but god already new that you where going to make that choice. He makes and writes your destiny it’s his plan for you.
to me god has a plan for all of us which is our destiny. You may make a choice but god already new that you where going to make that choice. He makes and writes your destiny it’s his plan for us.
Hi, that was a very insightful post, I too am writing a similar essay and found your view of combining the two interesting and logical. I had a similar view on the matter as I would find it hard to believe that my entire life is not my own. I really liked your escalator analogy too. Thanks for that and good luck with your blog.
I myself do not believe in fate.
I think it’s always our decision to be who we want to be.
I have never seen myself as a victim of any force, as I feel it is just creating excuses.
Faith in destiny or fate disempowers human beings. And then the real fun is in being in control of our lives, not in enacting someone’s else script. So, exercise control over your life and leave ‘destiny’ to be just a word in the dictionary.
As I’ve quoted before: “only the past is destiny, the future is free as you choose it to be.”
Twitter: amitsodha
The future is not set, there is no fate but what you make.
Thanks John, I always loved that line from the Terminator film too!
Twitter: amitsodha
heeeeeyyyyyyyy!!!!thnx a lot.nice oot luk of lukin at tingz!
Hi Vidhi, thanks for the comments and I’m so glad you liked the article! Hope to hear more from you soon!
Twitter: amitsodha
Thanks for this blog. Sometimes I ask God if man has truly endowed with absolute free ill. You know what, the bible answered me of human responsibility. We can choose to live good and to die in hell. Because God did not make us a machine or a mouse controlled by a spiritual force or Spirit. Yet, In the Name of Truth, we shall only choose that which is good inorder not to die in hell. Therefore, in the strictest sense of the word, man has no choice but to live good because God is for the good. That is a sovereign will of God for all men to be with him eternally. So can you still choose otherwise? Of course, man still can choose but on the other side or contrary to goodness but you have to take the risk. We all get rewarded and get punished from the choices we make. If one wants happiness and success, then pursue righteousness. If not, then expect for a bad karma.That’s why many times many successes of man turned back to ashes because they have made it against His will.Maybe God made this way, simply because He is God and has sovereign will over man. I learned some pointers how to live successfully and meaningfully from my mentor at kamja which I am proud to be their clients.
.,tnx a lOt Of ur blOgs…it helps a lOt 4 me b’cOz Of sum ideas u pOst…especially 2 cris da lst blOgs dat i read…sir,i agree w/ u…w/ gOd
evrytngs gOnna be right…jaz kip On believing Her..,
tnx…..
You know you should always consider the past as destiny. If you think the past was free, you become guilty, you become regretful, you become remorseful. You are very upset thinking of the past: ‘Oh I could have done this way,’ ‘I could have done that way,’ ‘I could have… could have… could have…’ Useless! Past should be seen as destiny. Future should be seen as free will. This is wisdom. Wise people do like that. Otherwise what you think… You think the past was free will, so you regret the past. And future you think is destiny, and you do nothing about it. You simply sit! We must reverse this tendency. Just doing this one thing will help you to a great extent.
Hey Dominic,
This is one of my earlier pieces and I agree with you. If you look at my quotes you will see one by me – Only the past is destiny, the future is as free as you choose it to be – which is exactly what you’re talking about.
Thanks for commenting!
Twitter: amitsodha
i just want to share that our only destiny is to live in this world with our own will and choice for us to know and experience the good and bad.but in the end what really matters is how we decide to fulfill that destiny and to choose to be with HIM…
Well said there Nathanael.
Choose to be with whom?
Twitter: amitsodha