LIVING WITH DESTINY

“I believe in destiny. Everything in life happens for a reason.
It happens simply because it is supposed to.
Although humans are allotted the power of choice,
the outcomes of these choices are long predetermined by some unknown force.
Yet as trivial as this ideology may seem,
my personal experience has lead me to become a firm believer in it”.

The above quotation is taken from an essay by an author whose name I do not recall. It clearly sets out a view, widely held, that in many cases outcomes are often predetermined, subject to an external force and beyond the voluntary control of the individual. Henry Miller, the celebrated American author, expressed this idea more precisely in this quote:

“Every man has his own Destiny;
The only imperative is to follow it, to accept it,
no matter where it leads him”.

Yet, the completely opposite view that Destiny is subject to our own free will and that we are responsible for whom we are and what we do, has very strong supporters. They essentially reject the “pre-determined” concept, insisting that we are finally responsible for our actions. William Jennings Bryan, the great American congressman and orator, described destiny in the following manner:

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for;
It is thing to be achieved”.

Throughout the ages, the concept of Destiny being an occurrence subject to an “external force” was universally accepted, and people believed and lived by the consequences. They basically attributed the source and purpose to a superhuman origin and willingly accepted the consequences to the “will of God”. Lord Edward Lytton, the great 19th century English poet and playwright summarized the popular view thus:

“We are but the instrument of heaven;
Our work is not design, but Destiny”.

However during the last century, with the advancing scientific knowledge and understanding, there has been a decided shift in Western cultures away from the idea of supernatural influence, to a more free-choice attitude. The prevailing attitude nowadays is that man is in control of his destiny and is responsible for the consequences.

This contrasts dramatically with the prevailing attitudes in Eastern and Middle Eastern cultures, where the concept of destiny being beyond our influence, remains strongly entrenched. In the Arab culture the term Naseeb is used to explain outcomes beyond individual control. In the Asian cultures, which remain deeply rooted in the ancient customs, destiny plays a fundamental role in life. In the ancient religions of Buddhism and Hinduism, the term Karma is used to explain the concept of destiny as part of the soul under the influence of the Gods.
To a significant extent, this difference explains the opposing attitudes toward life among the Eastern and Western cultures, and the willingness to accept adversity by the former without complaint. In this context I am reminded of an example of a situation where a mother responded to the news of her daughter’s abuse at the hands of her alcoholic husband by saying:

It is God’s will, It is her naseeb in Life”.

My own views however, based on my personal experience over the years, is that there is indeed a destiny in each one of us. Some may call it “coincidence”, others refer to it as “fate”, and the more religious will use “divine intervention”, but in all cases it refers to a random force, an opportunity, presenting itself in a special time and place to an individual. But that is not enough, for your destiny will only reach fruition when you are able convert it to action. Surely we can all recognize the very many occasions where the chance appeared and remained unfulfilled because we were not ready, or able or willing to grasp it.

Destiny therefore, is what you make of it!

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“We do not do what we want,
yet we are responsible for what we are;
- This is fact.”
……Jean-Paul Satre

Think you I bear the shear of Destiny?
Have I commandment on the pulse of life?
…..William Shakespeare

Character is Destiny.
…..Hereclitus

Your Destiny is determined by choice;
-Not by chance.
……Jean Nidetch

The chain of Destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.
…..Winston Churchill

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives;
And create a monster called Destiny.
…..John Oliver Hobbes

And when man faces Destiny;
Destiny ends, and man comes into his own.
…..Andre Malraux

One often meets his Destiny
in the road he takes to avoid it.
…..French Proverb.

The highest Destiny of man is to serve,
rather than to rule.
……Albert Einstrin

Accept the things to which fate binds you;
And love the people with whom fate brings you together.
This is your Destiny.
…..Marcus Aelius Aurelius


Our Destiny rules over us, even when we are not aware of it.
It is the future that makes laws for us today.
…..Friedrich Wilheim Nietzsche

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives;
And create a monster they call- Destiny.
……John Oliver Hobbes