The unbeatable combination of quiet desperation and being a romantic-dramatic leads to me identify most of my chance events as pure destiny. That everything that happened to me was meant to be. And that everything is about to happen to me will happen at the opportune time, over which I have very little control.
What is inconsistent is when I think of present chance events leading to a destined future I seem to readily discount it as being just random occurrences when things don’t work out. Like bumping into her on Facebook doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than that. That you making a career-move does not signify the future of greatness. It seems when it comes to the future on which I have control over, I quickly walk away from the concept of destiny. That it cannot be molded but rather only explained backwards.
And when it comes to the matter of grand plans, there lays the inevitable question of the ‘great planner’. The usual suspects are a million Hindu Gods. The hipsters point to an unidentified supernatural power. While the mathematicians continue snickering at these concepts, and marvel at the beauty of sheer randomness and chance. Even I discount religions, and generally get behind Mr. Dawkins, when he says that either one religion is right or every religion is wrong. But that hasn’t stopped me from muttering a prayer in a temple to an unidentified god, ‘Please God, please let me get the Lotus!’ When my dear mom speaks of horoscopes I assume a dis-approving eye but then have the shamelessness to ask her why her predictions didn’t come true.
If I summarize, it seems I have ranted the last few paragraphs on a topic that has been already cliched. That life can only be understood backwards. And you would only be aware of destiny after you have actually lived it.
But I want to end this conclusion differently. I wonder if I actually say that I am destined for greatness and achieve some of it, would that mean it was planned or I actually made my own destiny. If I say that despite the odds, one day I will walk the park no longer alone, does that I am actively modifying the future. In quantum physics kind of way, does this mean that if you actually identify your future and meet it at some point, you have actually changed it?
What i really wonder about pending destiny is how would I ever know if I made the right decisions?
Or rather, have I just concluded in a roundabout way, that there are no right decisions?
And that brings me to you, my dear blog reader. If you have followed this post this far, you have to now question yourself what brought you here and why did you stay. That out of nowhere, you have entwined yourself in my fabric of existence and unknowingly made me a part of yours. Unless you buy my hogwash and actually list precisely what got you here.
After all, I believe a clear path will eliminate the randomness. And perhaps expose the fallacy of destiny.
I think by backwards, you mean
'hindsight', right? "That it cannot be molded but rather only explained 'in hindsight.' " Just a thought 🙂
Reminds me of 'Mr Destiny' and I sort of agree when he says 'destiny makes the suggestions, you make the choices'.
Besides, why is the why important? I like the idea of out of nowhere. Serendipitous that.
Anon: yes, good catch that. In backwards should rather have been just backward. And it doesn't mean hindsight 🙂
Ups: like I said, if you prefer to believe that there are no coincidences then that is your choice 😉 but I like the concept of destiny merely suggesting paths.
where did I say I don't believe in coincidences? Are you confusing me on purpose now… 😐
Oh..loved every cliche running in your brain..reminded me of song Enya..only time
-Pradnya
Tricky title of the post you have got there! This randomness is life and it doesn't eliminate itself as you go, I have come to understand.
For everything else you have Mastercard or no, Cosmopolitans..:).
Ups: sorry. I meant the other way 🙂 this blog was obviously written by a mind much too small to grasp the posts content.
Birdy: yeah! I am totally looking at cliches as instructions these days. Why re invent the wheel??
Pallavi: sure, but what if I happen to go even more pseudo philosophical when I imbibe. The other day in was convinced that I finally understood string theory 🙂
Ooh. deep.
i believe in predictions. i believe in destiny. the thing here is, i'm extremely good at intuitions and all things crazy – which makes me plan less and believe more. i may be diverting from the main topic but well 😛 and DITTO @ birdy, only time by enya is the perfect background score for this post! 🙂
Ash. I am still not sure if I wrote is deep or just loopy but I will take it as you meant it 🙂
The question what I would like to ask is wil you get to your destiny if you don't plan for it? And if the answer is that I don't know what my destiny is then the debate is over. Even if in time you reach a destination anyways.
the debate isn't over here. i certainly know what my destiny is but i don't get into the whole "planning" saga cos i have always liked to believe more and PLAN LESS and it's worked. i rely more on instincts than the jazzy planning. listening to your own intuition, the inner voices can actually lead you to your destiny. ignore the noise outside. (i think need to take this offline:P)
i read this somewhere : "Destiny is something we "choose" to go after.. Fate is something that "happens" to us, and "seemingly" takes away our choices, but in fact actually leads us back towards the choice of Destiny we already made before we were born."
Destiny only exists in hindsight, bcoz when we get what we get, in present continious, its just another thing that has manifested logically either through karma or innate desires. Lifes patterns can be designed by the cosmic energy that swirls in our minds (most of the time) underutilised.
Destiny is that divine/diabolical bracket we like to bucket the bitter sour into, in hindsight.
Anon: so in essence you are saying that I am destined to do (blank) is a wrong way of saying it. You cannot plan destiny but rather explain it as something you hadn't planned for.