Screw Destiny

i want to believe in destiny. it's a comforting thought; that no matter what choices you make, destiny will step in to ensure you're on the right path. when i think about destiny, i tend to personify it and literally think of someone escorting people to their intended destinations. but i dont think it's that easy. i think that people that believe in destiny are the ones that can't handle or are too weak to make the choices they want to in life. if something bad happens, you can shrug it off and say it was destiny. you couldn't change it. calvinists in 16th century england believed the same practice of predestination. that no matter how they lived their lives was irrelevant because it had already been decided whether or not they were going to heaven. in 16th century england, they had precedent to make such conclusions. in a collapsing, failing world drenched with warfare and sickness, how could one continue to live without thinking that they were chosen to go to heaven afterward? today however, we are living well past our early thirties, and despite certain unfortunate parts of the world, dying in a war zone is extremely unlikely and yet, we still romanticize the thought of destiny.

beethoven once stated to "seize fate by the throat" meaning one could change their destiny, that they could alter their fate. i believe in his words. destiny is a beautiful thought and a comforting idea. but only for the weak. the strong don't need destiny. we have too much faith in ourselves and our abilities to allow something as whimsical as destiny to control our path.