Week 71 - "Start seeing everything as God, but keep it a secret. I still have no idea what I mean when I say God, but I see it everywhere" - Kaveh Akbar
For as long as I can remember, I don’t think I’ve ever believed in destiny. The idea that one’s life is already set in stone and is just waiting to unfold has never sat right with me. I think this is the case because it feels like accepting fate takes away my agency. If I have to accept that things will inevitably happen, it no longer feels like I’m in control.
However, I think there’s validity in the concept of destiny when looking backward. I just think that it’s only in that direction.
Let me explain. When you talk about destiny in the future, it can feel constraining. I mean, you’re talking about the future like it’s guaranteed. It should sound liberating, but instead, it can feel like a trap.
But if you can look at destiny as something that only makes sense in hindsight, it can actually seem pretty real. When I reflect on my life, I see a series of events that, while unpredictable at the time, now appear to fit together in a coherent narrative. But that only happened when I looked backward.
At the time many of those events happened, they didn’t exactly fit where I thought my destiny would lead me. But now, I can’t imagine them occurring any differently.
As I continue to explore my beliefs about destiny, a recent quote from the Persian poet Hafez has provided me with a new perspective.
“Start seeing everything as God, but keep it a secret”
Destiny, fate, god, whatever you want to call it, it’s always in front of you. It’s just never clear till you look back.
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