Is our life scripted, or do we make our own destiny?

Anna Scheetz
Sep 2, 2018 · 4 min read

I want to tell you a story. I grew up in Ukraine, which was part of the former Soviet Union. When I was around 12 years old, our teacher at school asked us to write down where we were going to spend the summer for some statistical purposes.

On a large piece of paper, she drew four columns — in the first column there was a name of a student, the next three columns there were the summer months — June, July, and August. The piece of paper was going through the class, and when it was my turn, I let my imagination go wild. I wrote that in June I was visiting Thailand and Malaysia, in July I was going to spend in Australia, and in August I would come back to Europe, crossing England, France, Spain, and Italy.

My teacher was livid. She said it wasn’t funny at all. I argued that I didn’t try to be funny, and how did she know I wasn’t going to go to those places? The teacher said that I had to show her the tickets or to re-do the whole spreadsheet, including writing down realistic travel plans for the summer.

Have you ever thought about destiny — is it predetermined or not?

The interesting thing is that I did go to every one of those places that I dreamt about when I was 12 years old. Not that summer–and it took me a few years to visit them all–but I have done it.

Was it my destiny, luck, or did I make it happen? Is our life scripted, or do we make our own destiny?

Throughout history, many explanations have been offered. The ancient Greeks believed in Ananke, a primeval force of compulsion, and in the Fates, three goddesses who controlled every moment of life from birth to death. In Eastern philosophy, the laws of karma are rooted in the idea that actions have determined consequences.

Some argue that we cannot choose the environment which we are born into, or our family, health, and many other things. Opportunities will be very different for someone born in the US and in Somalia. And then there are people like Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela who despite all odds were the greatest influencers on the planet of all times. Were they just destined to do the things they have done?

We can also say that anything is possible and we have the free will to create our own future. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Implying that it’s totally up to an individual what he believes he can do. Henry Ford proved it by his own life story.

My conclusion is that both statements are true — our destiny is predetermined and we do have a free will to create our own future.

Let me explain to you what I mean. We are all born with certain attributes in a particular environment. There is a reason for that. We have “a path” we meant to follow to “fulfill our destiny” and to learn lessons we are meant to learn along the way. That’s our task. Where free will comes to play, is that we can choose how far we want to go, the pace, who we will bring along, and how we will get there. That’s totally up to us.

You might ask, how do I know what my destiny or my task is? The clue is in our wishes and dreams. Since childhood, we all have different talents and desires. Some people want to become a doctor or a singer, or to have 3 kids and be a stay-at-home mom.

Our destiny is our calling, it is what we meant to do and to achieve. To fulfill our destiny is to realize our dreams.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your dreams are. Only YOU know what you are capable of achieving. You are never given a dream without the power to make it come true.

My favorite poet Rumi said, “What you seek is seeking you.”

By no means is the path to fulfilling our destiny easy. It takes a lot of courage.

Like in this story about two seeds who had the same dream.

Two seeds were lying side by side on the fertile soil. The first seed said: “I want to grow up! I want to put down roots deep into the ground and sprout from the ground. I dream to blossom in delicate buds and proclaim the coming of spring. I want to feel the warm rays of the sun and the dew drops on my petals!”

This seed grew up and became a beautiful flower.

The second seed said: “I want it, too, but I’m afraid. If I will put down my roots into the ground, I don’t know what they will face there. If I will grow tender stems, they can be damaged by wind. And if there will be flowers, they may be disrupted. So, I’d rather wait for the safer time.

While the second seed was waiting, a chicken that passed by pecked it and swallowed it.

Listen to your voices inside, trust them, summon the courage, and make it happen.

Like it was said in the Paulo Coelho book Alchemist, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

Whether you are 12 years old, or 80 years old, or somewhere in between, I hope you will dream big and all your dreams will come true.


Originally published at zenchapter.com.

Mom of two, wife, blogger, entrepreneur, passionate for balanced, healthy living and achieving full potential #mindfulness #beyourbestself www.zenchapter.com

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