Most people believe that they were born with a purpose in life.

Those that realize their talents believe they've found their purpose in life because nothing else makes them happier.

Some even go as far as saying divine interference is the cause of their talents.

But damn that.

Lets put it under observation.

First lets define destiny.

Destiny can be defined as predetermined purpose in life.

Something that you were born to do.

It can be viewed as a necessary obligation to be fufilled in life in order to understand your purpose.

Fate is synonymous with destiny.

Then there is cause & effect.

Which simply means for every action there is a reaction.

If I chase a man into a fenced alleyway with a gun, the man will be trapped because he made a wrong turn.

If I shoot that man in the head five times, the man will die as a result.

Simple right?

Okay.

Now, my question to you is this.

Do you think this man died because it was his fate or do you think he died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Now think about this before you answer.

Because I'm sure many of us are undecided.

When death seems rational, we say the cause is either wrong place or wrong time.

When death seems irrational, we say it was that individuals time.

Some believe Aaliyah died because it was her time.

While some believe she died because she simply got on the wrong plane.

Some people believe I was born with a God given talent and that I'm destined to do great things with it.

While I believe anyone can have this talent if their willing to put forth the effort to learn.

Which do you believe?

How do you apply that belief to your life?

Right now I'm leaning towards cause and effect. I use to think that everything that happened to me (bad and good) happened for a reason but looking back I've had some f*cked up things happen to me and I'll be damned if I still don't see the sense of it. So little by little I'm just starting to think that the choices we make have a domino effect on our lives and not necessarily just random twists of fate.

As far as your example about people with talent, there are many who are encouraged to pursue their talent and there's just as many who don't. The majority of people tend to do what they excel at because it makes them feel good. I don't think that they are destined to do that one thing, but if they have a gift for it they will tend to pursue that as opposed to something they're just average at.

Nov 19, 2008 -- 12:36AM, IheartCali♥ wrote:

Right now I'm leaning towards cause and effect. I use to think that everything that happened to me (bad and good) happened for a reason but looking back I've had some f*cked up things happen to me and I'll be damned if I still don't see the sense of it. So little by little I'm just starting to think that the choices we make have a domino effect on our lives and not necessarily just random twists of fate.

As far as your example about people with talent, there are many who are encouraged to pursue their talent and there's just as many who don't. The majority of people tend to do what they excel at because it makes them feel good. I don't think that they destined to do that one thing, but if they have a gift for it they will tend to pursue that as opposed to something they're just average at.

I feel ya on that... but I think that its a mix of both. We have free will so we have choice. But pressure busts pipes and it makes Diamonds. So if u been thru it..it was to make u stronger.

Great thread Nuri.  I've battled with this for a long time and lost many nights sleep behind it.  Everything that has happened in life can be explained with cause and effect.  Thats the reason we can predict the weather and plan a week. 

The problem with believing in destiny is that it comes with a hopelessness and it takes away from your accountability and responsibility to make good choices.  If I screw up, but I'm a destinist I can attribute my screw up to destiny and not choose to take the correct action to correct that flaw of mine.

Free will offers more flexibility in your life and opens more things to possiblity than destiny. Free willers believe that they have the power to make the right choice and move their life in the direction that they choose.  This empowers the person and leads him to put more effort into his life and follow his own desires.  It gives an "anything is possible" outlook, which is why alot of Americans are freewillers.

Which is correct is irrelevant and unknowable, but one thing is for sure.  For me and alot of others, the power of believing in a choice is a very valuable resource if properly tapped.

Nov 19, 2008 -- 12:43AM, Stepson wrote:

Great thread Nuri.  I've battled with this for a long time and lost many nights sleep behind it.  Everything that has happened in life can be explained with cause and effect.  Thats the reason we can predict the weather and plan a week. 

The problem with believing in destiny is that it comes with a hopelessness and it takes away from your accountability and responsibility to make good choices.  If I screw up, but I'm a destinist I can attribute my screw up to destiny and not choose to take the correct action to correct that flaw of mine.

 

This is VERY true. I just learned this lesson within the past couple years. I was always complaining and wondering why these bad things were happening to me. But after awhile I just sat back and analyzed how I got to be in that predicament, and 8/10 it was something that I myself did to cause that one bad thing to happen. So I stopped complaining. It doesn't mean I can't be sad but I have no one to blame but myself so I have to suck it up.