Do you believe in fate?

[girlinthepink]

Picture this... I, as the loving daughter, got my mum a trip to Dublin for Xmas as she has never been. We were due to fly out early on Tuesday morning last week and come back Friday. We were leaving my Grandad, sister, brother and the 2 dogs at home to keep an eye on each other. At 5pm on Monday someone pulled into our drive at home and ran over one of the dogs who was taken straight to the vets in a critical condition. As a result of this accident me and my mum didn't fly to Ireland as planned. The dog stayed in the vets for 2 days and all the family were very upset. On Wednesday at half 4 the vets called to say that the dog wasn't eating but because his blood count was stable he could come home to see if he would eat with us. We were all very happy to hear this and my brother went to find my Grandad to let him know the dog was coming home as he had been very upset about the dog being run over. When my brother went to find my grandad he had suffered a heart attack and was already dead. Now I think it was fate that the dog got run over to keep me and my mum at home what do you think am I reading stuff into it that is not there or were we really meant to stay at home...

P.s sorry for it not being a christmassy story but I'm not feeling too merry at the moment.

[The Grim Reaper]

Aw man, that really really sucks. Really bad.

However, i don't really believe in fate, but i do believe what happens happens, to put it strangely. Essentially, it seems people say fate controls things, and others say its their decision. Combining both, what was going to happen, was going to happen, and theres a reason for it.
Like you decide your going to go against fate/destiny or something, and change how something was going to happen. But the change is what is going to happen, essentially there wasn't really anything else possible under those circumstances.

I think im slightly confused now, and so, please don't read that. Too late.

edit: simply, i guess its just what happens was going to happen, and theres a reason for it.

[Zhyl]

The simple fact of the matter is the future is already written but we have free choice.

Confusing? If you took to rooms and into put one twin into each. If you expose each to exactly the same things from birth to death, would you expect them to do the same things? Ok, now take the same person but double, with the same thoughts feelings, emotions and so on and did the same would you expect them to do the same thing?

Therefore, we make decisions based on what we already know, we have to come to conclusions on our own but when we come to those we would have come to them anyway because of the stimuli or motivation.

As far as these individuals reacting to one another, there are random patterns. If you consider how many other possibilities there were there is only a small chance you actually achieve anything. in fact your mere exsistence is in the thousands. But then again something has to happen so is that fate or God or whatever or just the way things have fallen.

[octopus360]

Don't get too worked up over it. Could there have been a possibility that if your dog wasn't run over and you did go to Ireland, that your Grandad wouldn't have died? Maybe it was the dog getting ran over that set off the heart attack. If so, this isn't fate. It's life. And sometimes, life is unfair.

(PS: Make another trip to Ireland. It's a good place)

[Urlosenged]

I don't believe in fate at all. I simply believe that things happen. I'm sure that people could read patterns into any events if they tried hard enough. That sucks about your grandad and dog though :(

[Macca]

I believe little things happen for bigger things to happen.

As in little innocuous events that seem in no way related to each other have ways of culminating towards larger more meaningful events and most of the time it's imperceivable how connected they truly are.

[jonffm]

Yikes...thats one sucky day. :(

I suppose I do to an extent. An example...I was going to go do a spot of beach fishing a while back, but as I was preparing, everything was going wrong. Coaster broke...snapped the end off one of the rods...line was going all over the place...and the bait shop was out on my order so I was going to have to pick some up on the way..

All in all, I decided fate was trying to tell me something, and didn't go.

[Ozzylator]

I believe in fate insofar as I can blame it for all the fuck-ups in my life. I treat fate as a celestial tosser who I can give the finger when it suits me. Makes me feel better.

[katt]

i believe in fate cause i think time is already written...like a big circle or something.

and yet i also believe in free will...i believe each of us reacts to what is in front of us as we choose but the way we choose is sort of pre-written based on who we are as people

so i think we are just a program of sorts running itself out for god knows what purpose

[Sebas]

What happened to you sucks (And that is really too mild a term for it too), but no, I do not believe in fate. Life is random and undecided, I think.

[shroomhead]

oh no.. my condolences....
this sucks really bad. do i believe in fate? it depends on my mood and on the kind of phase i am experiencing... i tend to believe in fate when i am really lucky. when i am sad, i more think of the random world...

[Irvine Black]

I can believe in fate when it suits me. I like the idea that fate has led me to meet certain people, make new friends etc. Because it makes me feel better if I lost out on something else. I was looking for a new job a while ago, had a few interviews and didn't get a single one of them so I was forced to stay put. Now I've met a few great new friends that I never would have done if I'd been successful.
However, I hate not having a choice in how my life is run. If fate does exist and we're all on a set path then we're all completely helpless. I can't stand that thought really.

Oh, and sympathies to girlinthepink and her family.

[Thunderjew]

I don't believe in fate because my idea of fate don't give me the satisfaction and pleasure of the good things i make, the good friends i make and the other stuff i do that makes me happy. If i do something good, make a good friend or meet a cute girl, then it's all me and my actions. Not fate or destiny that had it all planned ahead, thus not giving me the credit for my good actions.

As for bad actions that makes people sad, angry or me sad or angry, then it's still my actions that caused that. Still not fate or destiny, but all me, my decisions and my actions. I'm a big boy, i can take the responsibility that comes with my actions. And if i can't take responsibility for them, i simply don't do them. If i break something in an accident, i'll apoligize if it was not my own thing i broke, and if it was my own thing then i'll get mad at myself.

So, in my world fate or destiny is non-existant.

[katt]

However, I hate not having a choice in how my life is run. If fate does exist and we're all on a set path then we're all completely helpless. I can't stand that thought really.

.
I used to think about that too until i came to the conclusion that because of each human being's unique character and values the "free" choices we continually make are pre-set and thus all our actions can be both fated and free.

Free in the sense we react to things like we desire. i think its the WAY we react to things/think about things that is fated. the choices are made freely though