On Fate and Destiny
So, it's been awhile. Does anyone actually use this shit anymore? I guess it doesn't matter. This entry is for me. I just need to put some thoughts out into the ether.
Where do I begin...
I'd like to write something along the lines of, "Looking back on the past year, I can't believe how much I've grown," but that's a given. Every year, every day, every second, I am growing. And the truth is, I can certainly believe it. Sometimes I feel as if everything I do is a destined act, as if I am an actor in a cosmic play called Life. I'd like to believe that I control everything that I do, but then I ask myself, "What would I have done differently?" The answer is "Nothing."
I think of all the people I've known, all the relationships I've had, all the friendships... Some have stayed, most have gone. Could it have happened any differently? No, I don't believe it could have. Every action I have taken towards another person has been a reaction to a previous action taken towards me. The same can be said for them, too. It would seem, then, that every "action" we take is, in fact, a reaction to another action which is, itself, a reaction. An endless chain of reactions. Where does it begin? What was the initial act that set these wheels into motion? That is the question, isn't it...
Where am I going with this? I suppose what I'm trying to say is this: everything that has happened was always going to happen, from the start. I guess you could call it "fate" or "destiny," but those words imply some sort of a plan or purpose... as if someone carefully laid out dominoes in an intricate pattern, and then knocked one over only to watch them all come tumbling down in a predetermined time and place. I happen to think it's a little more chaotic than that. To me, it's more like bubbles floating in a still pool of water. They float along, sometimes sticking together, sometimes separating, sometimes bursting. And every time one of these things happen, ripples are released into the still water, affecting the paths of those around them.
That's all we are, in the end: bubbles floating in a still pond, being pushed around by the force of our own relationships, until the day comes that we simply burst.
Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. -- Marcus Aurelius