For the last week I’ve watched a red and white plume of smoke emerge from nearby a nearby wildfire. While watching fires take beautiful trees and kill untold numbers of animals, we reassure ourselves with knowledge that fire is a necessary part of the natural world—after all, certain seeds only germinate after fire. We know that the rains will come birthing new habitats, new life, and new beauty. The inevitability and necessity in fire grants us comfort; even though, we may never see our home town forest in it’s full glory again.
In our own lives, we often lack the distance for comparable revelations; however, human life, like natural beauty, follows an organic course. We rise to grandeur, fall to tragedy, and rise to grandeur again in unpredictable patterns that many believe have some hidden meaning or purpose—fate. Others resist the concept of fate because they want the freedom to alter their own futures. Some even say that fate makes actions and decisions meaningless but, those who believe in fate have a safety net for life. The reality of fate, like God, remains speculative; however, we frequently presuppose it in speech when we refer to “soul mates” or a dying person’s “time.” We consciously, or subconsciously, assume that our lives have purpose and direction; perhaps, out of a basic human need for purpose or maybe out of a sense that we, like the forest, follow a natural and unpredictable rhythm of interdependent tragedy and joy.
Everyday we make countless decisions, some minor, some monumental, and some subconscious. A firm belief in predetermination should not alter our actions, but I think it will as our sense of responsibility wanes. Looking at fate from a Western view—maybe even as three witches cutting the string that marked our life—we might fall into a depressed state of inevitability. From a Hindu point of view, our past actions determined our karma which in turn determines how we act in this life. This view point offers us some hope of overcoming fate but, most people lack the power to do so. A diehard believer in fate may rely on destiny to craft her life, rather than his own actions.
Fate offers comfort in times of suffering. As long as fate is possible, this comfort is not an illusion nor a weakness. Even though we take comfort in fate, we should remain forever doubtful and act as though our decisions will alter the course of our lives. This agnostic attitude toward fate provides us with the greatest benefit.
The reassurance of fate gives people strength but belief in such fate requires strength as it requires us to relinquish control of our lives to a higher power. When we can we should make thoughtful decisions but, when life slips out of our control we should place faith in fate. By giving fate control, we place faith in our positive and happy destiny. With the hope that our destiny will resolve itself we loose anxiety, worry and stress over uncontrollable variables and focus on what we can alter instead. Faith in fate requires the frightening step of handing the reigns to a higher power but, as a by product, focus our energies on the events we can effect.
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