Fate or Free Will, Do We Get a Choice?
I’ve been contemplating the idea of free will recently, primarily because what I want (free will/choice) and where life seems to be directing me (fate/destiny) seem to be in conflict, so I’m stuck in an endless swirl of indecision and restlessness unable to pick a path or, indeed, accept my fate.
In early Greek and Roman mythology, the three fates were the weavers of destiny (spin, allot, cut), personified as three women. Mesopotamian mythology has something similar. Philosophers have debated fatalism for centuries. I’m not entirely sure I believe that “events are decided by fate and are outside human control,” as this implies some omnipresent being watching over us (or that we exist in a simulation). Of course, as a student of mythology and folklore, I love the stories of the three fates, spinning and deciding our lives and deaths, but the stories aren’t meant to be taken literally. Especially when it comes to my life and how I want to live it.
When I was a child, all I wanted to do was be inside stories and travel the world. I started collecting travel brochures in my teens and had lists of places I wanted to visit. When I arrived at the Acropolis in Athens in 1998, I saw elderly people with walking frames at the bottom of the wide steps. It just wasn’t accessible for them, they could only look at the Acropolis from below. I resolved in that moment that I wouldn’t wait until I lost my health before I travelled the world. And I’ve tried. I’ve had a few short trips, but nothing resembling the life of adventure my teenage self wanted. Is that due to fate or free will?
In many ways, I’ve got what my child self wanted: to be inside stories as a writer and storyteller. It’s infinitely joyful to exist in those spaces, but it hasn’t been easy to follow this dream - I make art in gaps of time and have moments of success, but by no means am I earning a living from my creativity. You can see a bit of my backstory on my Substack here. And yet, my heart yearns for a creative life, but what if Fate/Destiny has other plans for me? And can I fight Destiny? Are free will and desire enough to put me on a path of my choosing? And do I want to fight a force greater than me? If there is one.
Free will philosophy is enough to make one’s brain explode; it’s deep stuff! But how much of our decisions are based on life experience and how much on intuition? And is it possible to make decisions that align with destiny? I have more questions than I have answers in this post, and like always, I turn to writing to help me make sense of things.
My word for 2025 is alignment, but now I think about it, what am I trying to align to? My fate or my intuition? Are they exclusive things, or are they the same? If my fate is woven in the hands of the three wise old women, am I going with the flow of it or resisting the possibilities (and delaying) alignment with my destiny? Or, a radical thought, do I need to BELIEVE in the vision for my life to make it happen?
Today, I have no answers. But if I go with the way of fate, it requires a level of surrender to…something…greater, and this hinges on a belief that such a thing exists. I am skeptical that it does, and if there is such an entity, I wonder what such a being makes of current events that requires us to believe that they are fated for the people involved. I can’t get on board with that philosophy; it just doesn’t seem right. Besides, I’m just one of 8 billion human souls on this planet; why would it care for my destiny?
Alternatively, free will requires an unshakable, undeniable, and terrifyingly real level of self-belief. Ultimately, whether or not there is a greater force at work, this is my one, wild, and precious life, and I intend, and have always intended, to live it as fully and as wildly as I can. The “universe” can either get on board or get out of the way; I only get one shot at this. Life is so short. And, if fate is real, I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough if I’m on the right path because it will direct me there. Until then, my life is in my hands.
~ Alyssa
