by elmads

Introduction

Is your life today a by product of your destiny or because of your choices?

Are your choices destined to happen, or were they due to your free will?

Thoughts that occupy my mind and maybe yours as well. If destiny holds our lives, then why do we even bother to do anything? Why not just sit, sleep, and wait for what we are destined to become?

Yet, what’s even our destiny?

Are we destined to only suffer in life? Or are we destined for greatness? Perhaps both, or maybe there’s no such thing as destiny. We’re just a mass of flesh, born to procreate and eventually die.

The Paradox Between Destiny and Freewill

If our future is determined by destiny, then somehow there is no place for free will. How could there be free will without the freedom to make decisions and, in turn, influence our future outcomes?

It puts tension on these two concepts. Some people are convinced that our free will is limited by our destiny, while others argue that our destiny is shaped by our free will.

Free Will is Limited by Our Destiny

A 21-year-old Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with a rare motor neuron disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

When he was a child, he spent his time staring up at the stars. This fascination and curiosity will soon turn out to be the focus of his life’s work. Yet before he even reached his full potential, his ALS disease happened. The nerves that controlled his muscles were shutting down.

Before his diagnosis, Stephen Hawking did not always focus on studying. “Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life,” he said. “There had not seemed to be anything worth doing.”

In a sense, his disease pushed him to continue his life and pursue his Ph.D., which later helped him to make his ground-breaking research, books, and studies.

He was destined to be one of the greatest physicists of the 21st century. It can even be considered that his ALS was a contributor to his attainment of his destiny.

Free will was in the equation; he certainly had free will, because Stephen Hawking could have given up his dreams when his body continued to deteriorate, but he didn’t. Most people would find it hard to continue with such a disease, yet Hawking defied his own limitations by pursuing life and following his vocation.

I can’t help but wonder: What if Stephen Hawking did not have his ALS? Would he still become the person everyone knows about? Maybe he would, but not to the extent of his achievements if he has ALS, or perhaps he wouldn’t pursue his Ph.D., which could have changed the entire course of his life.

So, going back to my question, Does destiny limit the options of our free will? Perhaps, but we should consider the opposing view as well.

Destiny is shaped by our free will.

Destiny is Shaped by Our Free Will

At 13 years old, Zora Neale Hurston’s mother died, while her father abandoned her to the world. To make matters worse, she was a female African American in the first decade of the 20^th century.

A time and place where white individuals have more privilege in education and position. Not to mention, men were dominant and had more opportunities than women during this time.

To survive at such a young age, she worked tirelessly as a maid in different households. Zora Hurston had one of the unfortunate cards of her life. It would be understandable if she just accepted her given hand and succumbed to destiny. How her world crumbled and how sorry it had become.

Yet it didn’t happen.

There is one thing that has always been within her. She had a dream to become a writer, and it didn’t matter how impossible it was; she would strive to become one.

Her circumstances were one of the direst situations a 13-year-old individual could have experienced at such a young age, with racial and gender discrimination and inequality. Yet she didn’t let those unfortunate circumstances hold her down. It was more important to achieve her dream than to be sorry for herself and blame destiny for the life it initially gave her.

She continued to work hard as a housecleaner, and she pursued working on wealthy white family houses. Her reason was ingenuity; it was so that she could read the books of wealthy individuals. It was only the wealthy people of that time who had shelves of books. And where there are books, there is knowledge.

Young Zora also had an eye for reading and learning; she devoured all the information, knowledge, and style of writing in all the books she could read in the houses of wealthy families where she worked. She did her reading secretly, even for a few minutes.

As time passed, she was able to land a maid job for a travelling troupe. There she was able to learn about the white world; the troupes were also educated, so she learned a lot of things from them. She was able to read a lot of books as well due to the troupe, and she was able to establish a good relationship with them due to her love of literature.

At 25 years old, she was able to attend a free public high school and, after a few years, a university. While in university, she did her best to establish good connections with her professors and co-students. In there, she got an offer to go to Barnard College to finish her college education. She would be the first and only black student at the college.

Zora Neale Hurston never stopped; she continued to move forward, no matter what.

She became a writer after a few years, and not just any writer but the first black female writer to make a living from her work. A well-known black writer of her time, her most famous novel is “Jonah’s Gourd Vine,” which is also her life’s work.

Zora Hurston’s life story seems to contradict the notion that destiny limits our free will because her initial life circumstances were certainly not her choice but a destiny that was not within her control. Even before the death of her mom, she already had the curiosity and inclination to learn. What are the chances that she would not realise her dreams if her mom did not pass away?

That said, that kind of destiny given to anyone would have crushed most people. What more to a child who doesn’t know much of the world yet, with discrimination part of it just because of the gender and race she was born into?

Yet, Zora defied all odds. Her free will to follow her dreams rather than succumb to her nightmarish circumstances shaped her own destiny. Others would theorise that it was still all part of her destiny. Or is it?

Destiny, Freewill and Your Calling

The paradox of destiny and free will is a matter of one’s beliefs and understanding of life. Both perspectives have valid points—free will is limited by our destiny, and our destiny is shaped by our free will—and yet we cannot disregard that one is correct and the other is false. Both of them are happening within the same sphere of time, at the right moment, at the exact time.

What intrigues me, though, is our drive. The unique innate abilities, inclinations, and curiosities we have had since we were young. For Stephen Hawking, it was the stars, and for Zora Hurston, it was to write.

A young Charles Darwin wasn’t good at school; what he was interested in was outdoor activities. He loved hunting, looking for rare breeds of beetles, and collecting flowers and mineral specimens. He grew up doing the same hobbies, and his father, who was a well-known doctor in their place, wasn’t happy. Charles’ hobbies didn’t amount to anything. Due to this, his father scolded him and said hurtful words that Charles will never forget: “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all of your family”.

After a few years, this disgraceful young adult became one of the most important persons in the world who would theorise evolution by natural selection, which changed how we look upon a species’ evolution.

This wasn’t because Darwin was a very intelligent person or because he was the top student in his class. It was because he followed through on his natural gifts, honed his knowledge that was in line with his inclinations, and used these things as his base to build something from the ground up. Then he shared all of it with others.

We tend to think of destiny as exclusively the lives we are born into, either privileged or not, and the events that happened, are happening, or will happen to us—these are all true in some sense.

What we don’t understand, though, is that our natural abilities, or what I call the blessings we receive from above, are also our own destiny. Each one of us has these unique skills, and free will is also a big part of them. The free will to find, hone, and expand our own unique skills as we walk the path of time It is what shapes our destiny moving forward.

Charles Darwin could have just followed what his father wanted for him, which was to become a doctor, and not his unique self. He would still have a good life if he did, but he chose to become the Charles Darwin that the world knows today, the naturalist and geologist.

Regardless of destiny or not, we still have the choice to realise something better for ourselves, and that’s usually tied to who we really are.

Destiny in the Grand Scheme of Things

• King Phillip of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia chose Aristotle to be the mentor of his son Alexander III. His son would eventually become one of the greatest generals in human history and be known as Alexander the Great.
• Antonius Pius adopted a 17-year-old Marcus Aurelius, later becoming the last good emperor of the Roman Empire.
• Brigadier General Leslie Groves appointed Robert Oppenheimer to lead the Manhattan Project, which engineered the first atomic bomb. The same bomb was dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, which ended the second world war.

If King Phillip did not choose Aristotle to become the mentor of his son Alexander, would Alexander III still have the title “The Great”? If Marcus Aurelius wasn’t adopted, who would then be the next emperor of Rome, and would there still be the 5th and last good emperor of the empire? If Robert Oppenheimer wasn’t chosen to be included in the Manhattan Project, would the atomic bomb still be invented?

My own theory is that certain events are meant to happen in the grand scheme of things.

There would still certainly be “The Great” general if it wasn’t Alexander III; there would be another Roman Emperor if Marcus Aurelius wasn’t adopted; and the atomic bomb would still eventually be created.

It’s a fact that not everyone will be able to follow their own calling, inclinations, and natural abilities due to life circumstances, personalities, and coping strengths, and yet, there will definitely be others who will break the chains, overcome setbacks, and push forward on honing their unique skills and abilities.

If you’re the type of person who currently pursues their own inclinations and calling, then that’s a wonderful life and a wonderful feeling you have now. Perhaps you’ll be creating something that would impact a person, a group of individuals, the community, your nation, or even the world as you hone your natural gifts, but what if you didn’t follow it due to life circumstances?

From an individual point of view, you’ll have a different path that you’ll be following that is not related to your calling.

From a bigger-picture perspective, something you would have created if you followed your vocation would not materialise in the world. But here’s another theory of mine: that creation would still materialise, but instead of you creating it, it would be another person who followed his inclinations, which are similar to what you have.

If Robert Oppenheimer did not pursue his calling, then someone else would take his place and instead follow the somewhat same inclinations as Oppenheimer has within himself. Therefore, the atomic bomb will still be invented, no matter what.

In an oversimplified analogy, if you did not accept the job position that you have now, it is most likely that someone else would have your job position, and you’re working for a different company.

The world will always move forward; no matter what happens, it will not wait for us to be ready; instead, it will take the ones who are ready to take their place in the world.

Individually

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate.”

—Carl Jung

In Pixar’s animated movie titled Soul, which was released in 2020, it was shown that each soul was given a unique personality before it entered the world via a newborn baby.

All of us are different; we have our own weaknesses and strengths that are all present in our lives. I see this as multiple quirks given to us, and these abilities are our destiny.

As we get older and experience life, we unlock these innate abilities. You might have noticed it yourself; there are things that may seem too hard for you to understand and do, whereas it just seems like a walk in a park for others.

For example, there are some people who have sharper memorization skills than others, but when you flip it around, some of these people who are good at memorization are very poor at social interaction and decoding people’s needs and drives, while the others who are poor at memorization are superb at it.

One’s weakness is another’s strength. And usually, people are too focused on their weaknesses, blinding themselves to the fact that they have a set of skills and knowledge that are unique to themselves. This blindness hinders their progress because they’re too obsessed with their weaknesses. When, in fact, they’re just looking at it from the wrong view, it’s like playing checkers when you’re supposed to be playing chess. You’re good at chess, but you’re too obsessed with checkers.

Every skill that we pick up strengthens our own being; think of it as playing video games. You need experience points to level up and to also acquire the most important skills that will eventually make your playable character the strongest version it could become.

As with Charles Darwin (see “Destiny, Freewill, and Your Calling” section of this blog), by honing his uniqueness and following his natural inclinations, he was able to become what he is meant to be, not because he is purely destined to become one, but because he chose to become one.

Nevertheless, what if, for some certain life circumstances, Charles Darwin did not pursue his being? Then his life would probably be way different than what he had. And by going against our natural inclinations, it can create negative emotions and, most painfully, regret.

“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”

—Soren Kierkegaard

This does happen to a lot of people. And for whatever reason it may be, our decisions, our free will, are the small choices we make with each passing year.

Sure there is a destined outcome, but I would not say that it would only have a singular result.

I surmise that we have multiple destinations moving forward, and each choice we make today puts us closer to a specific destiny among the multiple destinies we have in life. Take action and cast a vote on the destination and destiny that you’re consciously aiming for.

It will never be clear what that is, but you’ll feel it deeply in yourself that there are certain actions that feel good when you follow them.

People call this passion and purpose. I call them your natural inclinations.

Worldview

Are all inventions meant to happen? Such as the wheel, concept of money, steam engine, railroads, mills, factories, cars, planes, the internet, and smartphones? How about the dark times in human history such as WWI, WW2, the Thirty Year’s War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, the American Civil War, and the Second Sino-Japanese War?

It’s easy to say that all good things, such as innovations, were meant to happen because human civilization progressed. But the opposite is true when we talk about conflicts where lives were lost.

It’s hard to say that those wars were part of destiny because it’s like saying that the people who died during those tumultuous times were meant to pass away.

Despite this, there was a silver lining to even the bloodiest times of human history, for example, World War II.

It played a substantial role in technological advancements. It’s ironic, isn’t it? But it actually did. The war created an unprecedented demand for new technologies and innovations to gain a military advantage. Here are some key areas where technological progress was notable:

1. Aircraft Technology: World War II saw rapid advancements in aviation technology. Jet engines were developed and deployed, leading to the first operational jet aircraft. Both the Allied and Axis powers continually improved aircraft designs for speed, range, and firepower.
2. Radar: Radar technology, which uses radio waves to detect objects at a distance, became a crucial tool for air defence during the war. It played a vital role in tracking enemy aircraft and ships.
3. Computing: The need for complex calculations in fields such as cryptography and ballistics led to advancements in computing technology. The war era saw the development of early computers like the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).
4. Penicillin and Antibiotics: While not directly related to military technology, World War II significantly increased the production and use of penicillin and other antibiotics. These medical advancements saved countless lives by treating infections.
5. Atomic Bomb: The Manhattan Project, aimed at developing nuclear weapons, led to the creation of the atomic bomb. The use of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the beginning of the nuclear age.
6. Submarine Technology: Both German U-boats and Allied submarines advanced significantly during the war. This included improvements in propulsion, sonar technology, and the development of better torpedoes.
7. Rocket Technology: The German V-2 rocket, the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, was developed during World War II. After the war, this technology became foundational for space exploration.
8. Communication Technology: Advancements in communication technologies, including radio and cryptography, were critical for military operations. These technologies later found applications in civilian life.

Wars are devastating to not just human lives but also our environment, and this will hold true for eternity, but there are things that improve and change. I couldn’t help but think that even the darkness that occurred in our world history was destined to happen, even the rise of the leaders who committed mass atrocities.

Even if it wasn’t Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, or Joseph Stalin who did those inhuman acts, I think that there would still be another person who would take their shoes, ascend the throne, and do what they’ve done.

The same can be said for Adam Smith, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Nelson Mandela. If they hadn’t followed their inclinations, someone else would have walker their path instead, who followed somewhat the same inclinations as these significant individuals in history. Though it might not have happened exactly in their time, perhaps after a few years, decades, or even centuries in the future, it would still have occurred nonetheless.

“Just as we commonly hear people say the doctor prescribed someone particular riding exercises, or ice baths, or walking without shoes, we should in the same way say that nature prescribed someone to be diseased, or disabled, or to suffer any kind of impairment. In the case of the doctor, prescribed means something ordered to help aid someone’s healing. But in the case of nature, it means that what happens to each of us is ordered to help aid our destiny.”

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 5.8.

The grand scheme of things is destined to happen. The persons who follow their inclination and hone their abilities would have connected the bridge from the grander world destiny to occur; if not, then someone else would have done it instead.

It is by following your own true self that you can take what could be yours.

To Sum It Up

“Among his various possible beings, each man always finds one that is his genuine and authentic being. The voice that calls him to that authentic being is what we call “vocation”. But the majority of men devote themselves to silencing that voice of the vocation and refusing to hear it. They manage to make a noise within themselves…to distract their own attention in order not to hear it, and they defraud themselves by substituting for their genuine selves a false course of life.”

—Jose Orega y Gasset

I’m in the boat that agrees that we have multiple destinies in our lifetime, and each step and decision we take is a vote on a certain destination.

Furthermore, our innate abilities, both good and bad, are one of the things that are destined for us. It is then our choice whether we pursue unlocking these unique gifts or let them be dormant for the rest of our lives.

Life circumstances can happen that seem to put a leash on your free will, yet they can also be seen as a key to unlocking your other important skills and bringing you one step closer to achieving your full potential as a human being. Or, as Robert Green says, attaining your true mastery.

Understand your unique self, discover your innate abilities, and follow your inclinations.

You are your own destiny.

Knowledge is my Sword and Patience is my Shield,

elmads

This blog serves informational purposes only. Accuracy of information is not guaranteed. Stories are based on and inspired by Robert Greene’s book “Mastery”.