Free will or Destiny
Is it fate against free will? Or a dance between the two? I lean towards the latter. How can fate not be a part of our lives. Our cultural past and conditioning has tremendous influence on who we are today, especially when living an unexamined life. Where is the free will if action comes from this programing? This invites contemplation. Diving into autonomy, I choose to investigate how I am influenced by my culture. To discover what I want, then make changes to my behavior and actions because of these findings.
This is also about learning to listen to something greater than myself. It is the web of life, network of nature, ongoing cycles and the interrelatedness of how one pulse has an impact on everything. It is the deep well of my body and the ground I walk upon. It’s my intuition, as sacred guidance.
Paying attention to these nudges and longings inside, I can choose to follow them and live a more purposeful life. Or I can ignore them and abide by the expectations of others. That is an option. The choices I make today do form my life tomorrow. And so do the many other choices that others around me make as well. After all, we are all woven together within this tapestry. Cause and effect has an influence. I can’t control what others opt to do, including the resulting repercussions from that, but I do have a choice on how I relate to what shows up.
Fighting how life unfolds means I am not present or truly living it. Rejecting and pushing away what is, I am attempting to pull in some replacement moment. Acceptance requires choice. Choosing to find peace with the ongoing flow of the cycles, whether that is called fate, fortune, or just life does not matter. It is a challenge when the turning of the wheel brings loss, conflict or disappointment. Yet by opening my heart and being I come to see that there is more going on beyond what I am fixating on. Maybe this loss is transpiring so that something new can come in. Perhaps the conflict I find myself in is the means to clear away misunderstandings, bringing greater intimacy. And possibly the discontent I am feeling is a nudge to move in a different direction.
Destiny and free will is not a double-sided issue, an adversarial relationship. My experience shows me that both are happening. A greater inclusivity comes with welcoming the blending of the two into a greater consideration. It’s a walk in the liminal.
