Do All Roads Lead to Rome?

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. - Albert Einstein

Once upon a time, there was a loud Big Bang that gave birth to a powerful being called Theory. She carried on procreating and along came her little special ones; Destiny and Choice. Never did she imagine that infants born of the same zygote could grow up to be so different; nor did she anticipate that the succession of chaos they would create, would last until the end of time.

Debates and discussions regarding destiny, fate, and/or choice never reach an absolute conclusion. As time has evolved, so has our dependency on tangible faith and belief systems. These are generally supported by facts, with specific reference to scientific evidence. It is with this that people’s belief in fate and destiny has dwindled. In addition, as time has gone by, the definition itself has altered.

The concept of fate has existed throughout all civilizations as well as mythologies. In Greek mythology, the three Goddesses dispensing fate were known as the Moirae, and they appeared in the child’s life three days post-birth. The child’s destiny was then laid out through the mystic spinning of the Goddesses threads. This in turn determines the world’s events, through all these intertwined threads of fate. Not only is this belief common to mythology, it is consistent with most spiritual and religious doctrines in some form or another.

That brings us to a very important question; can we control our fate to a certain extent or are we merely puppets with invisible strings that we call intuition? Is it completely out of our hands (no pun intended)? This conversation usually proceeds as follows:

Dim-Wit: Yes it is completely out of our hands.

Athena: If our fate is completely out of our hands and it is written out for us, how is one penalized for committing a crime? If it is our destiny to murder, to steal, and to be evil, why must you suffer for the so-called sins that are your pre-written destiny?

Dim-Wit: Are you saying that God makes people commit crimes??

Athena: Well, based on your definition of fate being completely out of our hands, yes that is exactly what I am saying.

Dim-Wit: No, we all have choices, and if we make the wrong choice then it is our own fault.

Athena: So then a part of fate IS in our hands through choice, therefore not everything is maktoob (pre-written) in the context in which it is understood.

Dim-Wit: What?? You blasphemous child!!! Everything IS maktoob!! Do not blame God for the Satanic acts of you and your generation!

Athena: I am not; I am blaming your dim-witted and inconsistent logic trying to understand your logic.

And therefore (for those who believe in fate) it seems that it is not entirely out of our hands. It is usually combined with choice. Considering that there is a certain element of choice involved, it makes you wonder why we bother with all this in the first place! But there is always a reason we bother, especially when it concerns death. You reach a fork in the road and you decide to go right. That choice leads to your death. Had you chosen left, you might have lived. But wait, you were fated to turn right, were you not? If you had turned left, would you have died anyway? Or would your destination (death) have been prolonged due to a different choice? I have drawn some illustrations to demonstrate what it is that I am trying to say. Does it look like Illustration 1, 2, 3 or 4? Does it look like anything at all? Could it be an empty post-it where nothing is shaped but just is?

The questions are endless, with no answers in sight. It could be for this very reason that the concept of faith exists; due to the fact that human minds have difficulty grasping the vastness of life and the universe, such that barriers and boundaries are usually required, in order to maintain an ounce of sanity in this crazy world. Also, the thought that a loved one could have lived they chosen left instead right, can be unbearable.

Many wonder why we bother discussing topics as such, where an attempt to answer a question only yields more questions. Some question, due to the fact that their actions are directly related to their end destination (death), and they are driven by the fear/thought of what comes after. Therefore all their actions are influenced by what they assume will buy them a one-way ticket to Heaven. Preferably First Class. Others question in an attempt to stretch their own minds and the minds of others. Not in order to find answers, but to understand that life is much bigger than we are, and that ‘the safest course is to do nothing against one's conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death.’- Voltaire.