Fate or Choice?

I was reading this morning, and came across this prompt from a fellow blogger, I felt it was an excellent prompt to consider and explore. Please remember, I am not on FB currently, but hope you are all discussing this without me. I am always a message away, and welcome discussion if you have time. Let’s check out this prompt and see where it takes us.

When I was younger, I found my life to have so many fateful coincidences that I believed solely in fate. Everything happened in sequence, with purpose, and it felt very much that my life was being guided by forces beyond me. I am not sure how long I believed that fate was the only factor in my life evolving, growing, and changing. Looking back, I can say with certainty, that I was a very naive person to not see my choices then, and how fate may have been more so a different kind of force than what I perceived.

If I am being totally honest, fate as I erroneously assumed, was really opportunity for choice. That is kind of mind blowing, knowing that my choices in fact were not fate, but actual choices. I say that because fate may have presented opportunities with possible outcomes having ability to forge my path left or right, but ultimately, I made the choice…even if those choices were intuitively lead. Intuition is more or less a built in system of self trust, and I trusted that part of me to make decisions…choices.

Sooo, looking at this prompt, I am gobsmacked not by the prompt, but by my own words slapping me in the face. I have told my clients and people for years that they can make choices that can alter, mold, or completely change their lives, and while I have subscribed to the same logic for myself, once upon a time I denied the truth of this. The answer to the prompt?

My choices have by and large shaped my life. Just like me forcefully changing my life since 2018, I am undoing a lot of what I chose, or at least that is the way it seems, perhaps fate is intervening again? Ha! Truthfully, I am forging a new path, one in which I am working with my body and not against it, bringing me more in to alignment…maybe the most aligned I have ever been with myself, my values, my intentions and goals. While this is carving new paths, I am always guided by a compass set forth for me that reminds me, my choices shape my life. I ultimately have a lot of sway over my own life, my choices are the only things I can control. Unpopular statement: our lives are exactly where we have chosen them to be. While this is not 100% true, it is probably 75-80% true, outside factors weigh on our lives…but we still are making choices, so…

Our lives have been wholly in our control, despite what has happened to us. We typically don’t realize how much control we had with our choices until later in life. It is a shocking moment to realize we have chosen so much that affects us, good, bad, and indifferent. How do you feel about this? I feel oddly relieved, yet full of grace for my younger self. I have some regrets, but don’t feel regretful. I have been working through these feelings for over 4 years, and the last year has really shown me that I feel my best while making choices best for me, less self sacrificing. I am working to the Nth degree to make my choices count, how about you?

Drop me a line, send me a message, give a smoke signal or something to let me know your thoughts on this. I would love to know!