Is it Fate or is it Destiny?

     One of my favorite all time movie is one where Gwyneth Paltrow's character is divided between two scenarios which ultimately lead to the same outcome -- Sliding Doors.  The movie takes you on a train ride that relies on a one-second window of opportunity, or should I say sliding door, to either disembark or remain on her journey.  Her journey is altered by the happenstance of outer circumstances and her own choices.  When the movie ends you cannot help but to look at your own life through the clear glass panes of sliding doors.

     How do you determine what is fate and what is destiny?  I pondered this throughout my life, wondering if I should believe in one or the other, or whether such a thing even existed. Maybe life was meant to be a mystery and to question it would be sacrilegious.  I admit that I spent half of my adult life not knowing, relying on faith-based religion to answer my prayers all the while navigating through every day life on my own account and beliefs that I had acquired -- like baggage -- along the way.  That was my journey, but was there a purpose to all of this?  The burning question lingered.  Just like the movie, Sliding Doors, revealed: the outcome would be met no matter what circumstances played out. It would be better to dump the baggage and travel light.

There's a Divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will.
(Hamlet, 5.2) Hamlet to Horatio

     Years later, I now understand fate and destiny to be like this:  fate is predetermined and destiny is arbitrary.

     My belief is that we enter into this world to embark on a journey that is paved by the choices we make which ultimately leads us to a place of fulfillment.  We all have a destination, a fate we will ultimately face, but the experiences we enjoy, or not, while on the journey, is the destiny we create by the actions we take, the reactions we have, the choices we make...

Our wills and fates do so contrary run That our devices still are overthrown; Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.
(Hamlet, 3.2.208), Player King 

     So next time you wonder whether life was supposed to happen to you this way, perhaps ponder this. Yes, you have a purpose, and you are on your way there. Was it supposed to happen like this? That, my friend, is entirely up to you.  It is the destiny which has been unraveled based on your beliefs, your decisions, your desires and your thoughts.  The outcome, good or bad, will be perceived by your state of mind at the end of your journey.  Can you credit yourself with having paved the best route possible, or could you have made a better one?  If you're reading this, clearly there is still time to reach your final destination - your fate -  onward a more scenic route - your destiny, because the latter is in your hands, the former was decided in another realm I dare say.  The map you were handed was marked with only an "X" with the rest to be filled in by you.  Many have tried to tempt the hands of fate, only to discover it is inevitable, but you do have a say in your destiny because it is marked by free-will.

     How are you going to draw the directions that get you there?  As for me, now that I am aware I can take as many trains as I want, or perhaps miss a train or two, and still fulfill my purpose in life, I'm going to pay more attention to the journey.  At the end of the journey, I will have reached my own fate but travelled the roads I chose to.  Even though you may not know right now what your fate is, pay attention to the sliding doors and try not to miss the train, or do . . . just know that whatever experience you have is being mapped out as you go along.  The final destination is in the hands of the gods, as they say.

On This Note:  Savor life with all the sweetness you encounter along the way for the bitter moments when it is no where in sight.



I hope this blog motivates at least one person to find their courage and start moving toward making their dream come true!

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