I Believe in Fate
On the paradox of free will and destiny — and the quiet hope that, if it's all written, the writing is kind.
I’ve never been able to fully decide whether I believe in fate or not. The honest answer is something like: I believe in both, depending on the day. Some of what’s happened in my life feels too patterned to be random. And some of what’s happened feels too obviously mine to be predetermined.
This poem doesn’t resolve it. I don’t think it can be resolved. But it sits with the paradox.
We need to let things come to be, naturally
Yet we must take action to create
Our journeys connect serendipitously
It’s why I believe in fate
It’s a paradox, though, when you think about it
Do my actions redefine my destiny?
If I choose a certain path, does fate shift?
Or are we merely puppets following scripts obliviously?
It’s hard to believe, and hard to accept
That whatever happens, is already written in stone
Because I want to write my own story, and reflect
On what I’ve chosen, who I’ve become, and where I call home
I hope, if it’s never been up to us, that fate is kind, not stern
Not just to me, but to those I care for most
I pray our lessons in life are learned
And we find peace embracing what unfolds
Maybe the trick is that the two truths aren’t really in conflict. You take action as if it’s all up to you, and you accept the outcome as if it never was. Both feet on the gas, both eyes on the road, neither hand white-knuckling the wheel.
The closing line is the one I keep coming back to: find peace embracing what unfolds. That’s the only part of fate any of us actually controls.
— JTC