Fate, luck and destiny

Now that I’m in my senior years, I have time to reflect and reminisce over times passed. I had a curious thought about my journeys, concerning events and adventures that could have turned out differently if it weren’t for fate. I recall an event that I experienced when I was four years of age. I went swimming with my sister and my cousins Barbara and Joan in the Long Island Sound. Somehow I got caught up in a riptide.  I remember it clearly, as I struggled to breathe. Suddenly, an arm reached down and pulled me out. I was in agony, coughing up the salty spume. One minute longer and I would’ve drowned. 

What was my fate that day that allowed Joan to fish me out? Many of us have had near-death experiences during our lives. The comments are always, “if it was a few seconds later;” the common adage for a close call. I always wondered how fate plays into this. By definition, fate is the development of events beyond a person’s control. Unfortunately, I have had more than one such encounter which will not be recounted here.

The author Carlos Casteneda revealed in his books an awareness of death’s augury several times. Paraphrasing a passage, he intimated that death was always over your left shoulder, and one should always be mindful of that fact. I totally agree. This awareness, in many cases, can be attributed to intuition. However, I believe our fast-moving culture has not allowed us to listen to our intuitions. As they say, time is money, and that has contributed to many catastrophes. In dangerous situations, one must always listen to your inner self.

But then again, I have lost a friend and an associate to avalanches. In one case, I reneged on one of those ski trips. Was it fate that allowed me to escape death? I will never really know, but some inner voice told me not to go that day, and I listened. Thus, fate may be determined by intuition. 

So how does luck and destiny play into this picture? Some people are lucky and some are not. You can’t win if you don’t play! Luck is that intuitive hope that occasionally comes true. Others consider luck as something you create. I believe, to some extent, they are both true. Luck intuits the romantic notion that chance is controlled by you, while fate seems more preordained. Sometimes you feel lucky, sometimes you don’t! Roll the dice if you feel lucky.

Destiny is something altogether different. Destiny has to do with the future. We all know the adage, “It was his destiny!” Again, intuition comes into play, not to say that destiny can be determined by rational means; it may also be a significant factor. You may create your destiny, but destiny is also subject to fate and luck.  All I know is that fate and luck have come into my life, and who knows what new paths are still to be destined.