What do you do when you find out that you have a cursed fate?
Imagine being told by a fortune teller that your existence was cursed and you were doomed to meet with disaster after disaster. Then as much as you deny your belief in fortune telling, a part of you becomes fatalistic as you become more aware of your shortcomings and dreary situation. You begin to suspect your surroundings and your past and the realisation that it could be reality crushes your heart and mind. Your dreams of a better tomorrow all of a sudden looks real bleak.
You fear that it all will become a self-fulfilling prophecy as you try your very best to avoid certain situations foretold but the more you consciously try, the closer you seem in self-fulfilling them. The only way out it seems is to forget what you've heard...
So what exactly is this thing we call Fate? Is it the same as destiny?
John G Bennett, in his book Deeper Man, defines it aptly when he says that both have different meanings. Fate includes everything that is beyond our control and gives the framework in which our lives are conducted. Thus, the colour of our hair, the race, nation and family in which we are born, our astrological horoscope, our aptitudes and talents are all part of our fate. Fate, sometimes called luck, operates throughout life bringing us opportunities, introducing us to people such as future spouses and generally shaping the way things happen.
Destiny, on the other hand, is our soul's task and purpose for coming into life. Success and failure in life depended on a certain degree to which we fulfilled our destiny, which might or might not harmonise with our fate. Destiny is something active whereas fate is in a sense passive.
You may be born into certain circumstances, but ultimately life is what you make out of it. Yet it is hard to ask your heart to be still with knowledge of a cursed fate. So no matter how curious you may be, think twice before consulting a fortune teller. (See also: Of SDU and Fortune-telling)
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