Twist of Fate

Are our paths predetermined?

Hi Zan, Hi Pa

Volume #6 

December 10th, 2023

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HI, ZAN:  Another of our Founding Members, David Noyes, suggested we talk about fate or destiny.  It’s an interesting idea.  Any thoughts?

HI, PA: A very interesting idea—thanks to David for that one! “Fate” always takes me back to the days when I learned about Ancient Greece. In Greek mythology this concept was embodied by the three fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who spun, dispensed, and finally cut the thread of each human life. There was something about this image that always struck me—maybe the fact that someone else was in on the trajectory of each person’s path through life, or that this seemed to suggest that fate was more adaptable than set in stone. After all, the fates were merely spinning their threads in response to how humans reacted in different situations, not weaving someone’s destiny before they were born and then moving on to the next person’s and never returning to edit their work. 

I like to think that a whole society believed in this, whimsical as it may sound. These days I think the majority of Americans believe that the way their life turns out is solely up to them. In our society we feel so much pressure to make the right move all the time and make the most of every moment… Wouldn’t it be nice to sit back and believe that someone else is out there weaving our story along with us? 

What do you think of the Ancient Greek concept of fate? And why do you think we’ve strayed so far from it, at least in American society?

PA:  Thanks for that, Zan.  I am utterly and shamefully ignorant of Greek mythology.  But that part of it actually sounds to me a lot like the Eastern idea of karma.  “You can change your karma,” I once heard a famous spiritual teacher say.  So, in the belief system of Buddhists, Hindus, and others, the circumstances of your current lifetime, good and bad, were determined by actions in your past lifetime(s)…but, according to that teacher at least, not irrevocably.  You can make adjustments to your karma as you go.  

I find that comforting, though it troubles me that the notion of karma is often oversimplified into something like if you’re suffering in this life, it means you did something terrible in your past life.  Or, if you’re not suffering in this life, it means you led a sinless past life.  That doesn’t work for me.  I do think actions have consequences–most systems of belief preach some version of that.  But my guess is that the way karma works might be more complicated.  Maybe your suffering has to do with an important lesson you have to learn, and so, painful as it is, ultimately it’s a reward not a punishment.  Or maybe you decided, somewhere in the astral realms, to take a bit of the suffering from someone you love, to ease their karma.  Or maybe the good or bad karma you earned in a past life is waiting for you just a few days or years down the road and you shouldn’t draw any conclusions from your present situation.  Or maybe the reasons behind our joys and suffering are beyond the capacity of the human mind to grasp.  I like to hear various opinions, but I don’t trust people who are 100% sure they know.

ZAN: Whaaaat, you mean you don’t know for sure how the universe works?! 

PA: Wiseass daughter!!  Fathers only pretend to know everything.  It’s part of the job.

I do believe in fate; I just think it’s drawn in wet concrete and can be changed a bit before it dries.

To address your second question:  For better and worse, we Americans are all about self-determination, practitioners of the famous ‘can-do’ philosophy.  I think that’s why we’ve accomplished so much in so many areas, but also why, as a culture, we have a great deal of trouble accepting death.  As if we could somehow will our way around it if we worked hard enough, or were smart enough, rich enough, or savvy enough.  It’s good to make changes, to struggle against difficulties, to be appropriately stubborn at times.  But there’s also something to be said for peaceful acceptance, for understanding that some of what happens to us is fated.

You and I should each have a go at depicting fate in a drawing.