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Anyone that has asked him or herself, “What is my purpose in life?” has also probably wondered if life depends on our choices, or if everything is already destined to happen. The answer to our purpose in life is not a constant that we simply discover at some point, but is more of an evolving truth. This is because life itself happens through time, and in that time, we are constantly changing, thanks to our various experiences.
But there is also another perspective on life that combines the idea of a predefined destiny and a choice-driven life.
Imagine yourself in a small boat at the beginning of a river—we didn’t choose the river or the boat we are in, but we are here still. You realize in the beginning that the river only has one way to go, so you may row or let the flow of the current guide you, and it would make no difference.
Then you come up to a division in the river and a choice is presented to you. You may let the current take you where it will, or you may choose where you want to go. The important thing to know is that one way or another, you are either choosing to take control, or choosing to trust the flow of the current.
After the first division you soon realize that there is another division and so you must choose again, and then another division, and the story repeats itself until there is no more river left to flow on.
In this analogy of life—one of destiny and choice—one element becomes important. That element is time. In life, you will do whatever you do, but time will still move forward and there is nothing we can do about it. In the analogy, time is represented by the water. It will continually move forward and flow until our time ends.
Destiny is represented by the divisions in the river, and the way destiny works is that it presents us with choices to be made or not made. We can’t choose the circumstances that have taken us to the choice, but we can choose what we will do with the circumstances and where to go from there.
And choice is represented by the oars we have with us. By rowing, we can choose which way to go and what to make of the results and consequences of our choices, so as to live a life worth living.
It ends up being a balance of identifying the opportunities life gives us and choosing where to go with them—or choosing to let life’s flow surprise you, so that we may discover new realities and travel beyond our imagining. It all depends on the choices we make to either control our path or enjoy the ride.
Life’s journey is made up of destiny and choice. We must not let our comfort zones and fears get in the way of fulfilling our maximum potential and truly living a great life. That requires a balance of both making choices and going with the flow—and that balance will allow you to navigate your way to a great existence.
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