It’s interesting to think about these words. I’ve heard them thrown around a lot over the years. I don’t believe in things that are fated to happen or that something is someone’s destiny. This directly contradicts my belief in soul contracts and the “milestones” we signed up for before we came into our lives. The way I reconcile the two is that while we may decide ahead of time what experiences we’re going to have, we still have a lot of choices in the matter. To me, fate and/or destiny imply that no choices can be made. Our job is to go through it, live through it, good or bad, learn the lesson, and move on. I don’t like that scenario. Even in the worst situations, I like to think I have a choice. The choices may not be great ones, but if I have a choice, I’m not completely powerless and at the mercy of my circumstances.

I’ve previously mentioned that I had plans for my life when I was in college that got derailed not long after, and my life hasn’t been the same since. That’s happened to a lot of people. This brings us to the thought about what is fate and destiny. If someone told me in college that I would be a kahuna writing articles about metaphysical topics, I would have laughed and told them to ease up on the drugs. Here it is years later, and my life is so far removed from where I thought I would be, from a mental and spiritual perspective and a physical one. Never had I imagined living anywhere other than where I was born and raised, but I do. Was that fate? How far back was it planned? Was it in my soul contract? Did I make the choices I did to facilitate the lives of other people? The choices I made affected others by changing the trajectory of their lives too. Was it all part of some grand plan? I don’t know. Was it my destiny to be the catalyst for all that change? I have no idea.

The point of my rambling here is to dive into these concepts of fate and destiny. Some believe that they can’t be changed. Once on the path, you are walking toward whatever is at the end, and no deviation is possible. It’s like the inevitable march toward death. Then there are those who believe that nothing is written in stone and that anything can be changed at any time. Good fortune and luck can intervene to alter the path. This may be a matter of optimism versus pessimism or realistic versus naive. If I had never lived through the spiritual stress I did, I would not have embraced being a shaman at all. It had been a part of my life for my entire life, but it was always on the fringes of it. I used it to keep me out of danger and away from people who would have caused major chaos in my life, but I never seriously thought about being a healer and using the gifts I had to help others. My experiences changed me and forever shaped the way I viewed the world. Was that the hand of fate? Was it my destiny to become a kahuna? I don’t know.

What I do know is that I always try to remember that I have choices. I don’t always have good ones, but there are choices nonetheless, and it’s up to me to choose the best one for me regardless of what anyone else says or wants. My conclusion is that while fate and destiny do stick their noses in my life often where I don’t want them to, I still get to make choices about how much influence they have. They might have laid out the path, but it’s my choice whether or not I go along with it or veer off into the bushes with my machete in hand. In general, I prefer things to be easy, and a shaman I trained with years ago told me that when the Universe wants me to do something, I’m going to do it. Whether it’s the hard way or the easy way are my choices. So far, I have found that to be true. When I hear my guides speak to me and issue a command of some kind, I no longer question it. I just do it.

That is contradictory to my general philosophy regarding self-determination, but it works, and it’s not all the time. It usually happens when something is happening quickly, and I don’t have enough information to make me comfortable enough to make a decision. I trust my guides not to steer me wrong, so I follow their instructions, and everything always turns out well.

Perhaps we need a broader definition of fate and destiny. One where fate brings us situations, people, places, and things, and we choose what happens with them. We succeed or fail based on whatever skills or issues we possess.

In metaphysics, your beliefs dictate your capabilities and how far you will progress. Is it fate that you can’t meditate? Is it your destiny to be an energy healer? Who or what makes that decision?

I prefer to live somewhere in between fate and choice. It gives me things to think about without my brain sizzling. If you believe you have no choice in a matter, you have already relinquished your power and told the Universe that you will allow whatever happens without your input. If you believe that you write your own destiny and nothing is predetermined, there would be no hardship in your life as no one would purposely create that, would they? What role, if any, do they play in your life or your belief system? What do you think about fate, destiny, and choice?