Free will and fate, or free will and destiny—destiny has the more positive connotation—have a paradoxical relationship where one can’t logically exist while the other does also. If we have free will then nothing can be destined in our future. If we have a destiny then we cannot be absolutely free. In order for both concepts to coexist they would have to vaguely overlap with a third element, uncertainty, to form a kind of electron cloud of possibility.
I believe in both free will and destiny, that they exist in the way so many stories portray them. A character discovers he or she is destined for something and they either try to avoid or fulfill the prophecy, and of course destiny wins in the end. Certain events can be foretold and will inevitably come to pass, while the road that leads to and through those events is subject to change, to our free will.
The subject of free will vs. destiny gets a lot easier to think about when one considers that in the future nothing at all bad will be able to happen. No danger, no harm, no unpleasant surprises. In a sense the absence of negative possibilities revolutionizes the meaning of freedom itself. Tell a person that something is without a doubt going to happen to them no matter what, then wait a few seconds and tell them that the something is good, and see how their expression changes. Everything being good means nothing bad can ever happen again. Mindblowing, isn’t it?
Until now it’s been difficult to consider this subject without wanting to throw off the bonds of a fixed future in the name of absolute freedom, but time has been more linear in the past than it is from now on. Once something happens it happens so we’d better do what we can to determine our futures to protect what is good and above all be free to decide… This line of thought makes sense from a standpoint of logical responsibility and individual rights, but what if it’s a blessing that is preordained? Someone walks up to you and tells you with absolute certainty that you will receive one million dollars and the ability to fly one day. I doubt many free will enthusiasts would be up in arms about their fortune being told.
Everything being good opens the skies to possibilities and it changes something within us as well, but again, I do not want to get ahead of myself. I have no right to talk about heaven as freely as I do. I had no right to fly either and that didn’t stop me, at least not until recently. It has been nearly one week since I’ve flown through the sky and I admit I’m getting restless. I knew I would miss it but I resolved to forego flying as long as possible. At the moment it seems preordained that I should do so. Flying served to remind me that I was free, allowed me to breathe the freshest air in the world, gave me an expanse of heavenly radiance in which to rejoice and find true and lasting peace. Now all I have is this journal. I sit on the couch and scribble to you, dear reader.
I will wait at least two whole weeks before I fly again. This will allow me the opportunity to demonstrate my self-control and adopt whatever new perspective the hiatus was meant to grant me. Until then I have coffee, reading, and journaling to occupy my time. So, free will and destiny. As life expands into new realms of possibility, transforming space, time, and the human heart, we will come to know both more and less of the future. More, because our perception is expanding and some things shall be foretold, and less, because the future is expanding and many more things shall not be foretold. I for one would prefer fewer things to be foretold, but I acknowledge that my position limits what I can know about this subject, and therefore I do not want to rush to judgment on these matters. I value freedom, but destiny is magical. One cannot weigh the two and determine a clear winner.
Here is a hypothetical. What if you had a dream about Native Americans. In the dream was a young man walking a path with a friend or friends, and it was revealed by an elder of his tribe that at some point in the distant future he would die on the path. Then an older version of the young man came back in time to appear to himself on the path. Mysterious, is it not? That is when I woke up and began writing a journal entry about free will and destiny. I couldn’t help relating to the young man and feeling like his dark prophecy is my own and that it has something to do with my writing. I already feel that I’m reading too far into this. Dreams can be serious portents, but this one is vague and I’m not sure what to make of it. Hopefully I do not perish while writing.
So there it is, free will and destiny are not mutually exclusive as long as they coexist with an element of uncertainty, allowing events the ability to be preordained and to take place while allowing free will to have its run of the future. Paradox solved. What should we do next?
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