Essay/Term paper: Fate and destiny

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Term Papers

Fate and Destiny


In the beginning a man and a woman were born. They married each other
and lived a life that was filled with much happiness and joy. One day a terrible
car accident occurred that killed them both. In this world we live in we face
everyday choices. Maybe these people did not choose to die, but they maybe chose
to drive in the car that day. Was what happened to them an accident or a bad
twist of fate that was their destiny? Were these two wonderful people
predestined to die at that moment or was it just an accident or did they just
make a bad choice to drive in a car that day?
It is my belief that we are here for some purpose. Some meaningful some
not. Each of us has our own opinion whether that is so. Fate is a part of this
world. In mythology fate/destiny is often looked upon for guidance, prophecies
made concerning fate often come true, and even the gods in mythology respect
their own destiny.
In mythology, when people were facing hard times they visited temples of
guidance on what they were destined to do. Like in the story of Cupid and Psyche.
Psyche's parents went to seek an oracle (in Apollo's temple) for advice on what
to do with her. The oracle directed Psyche in the right direction of her fate or
gave a hint to what was destined to happen anyway. Also, in the Odyssey where
Odysseus visits Hades to see an old blind dead soothsayer to find out what he
should do in order to get home. Last is the destiny of Oedipus who seeks help to
make his country a better place, only to find out what his real destiny was.
A strange thing happened in all of these different prophecies and
destines of all these gods/humans. They all came true. All of them. For instance,
it was said that it would take Odysseus ten years to return home. Low and behold,
he came back in ten years. Halitherses who warned the suitor's of their own
destiny if they don't change. Of course they do not listen they do not change
their ways and end up meeting their ultimate demise. And we don't want to forget
about the fate of Oedipus whose destiny was to kill his father and marry his
mother. Sad thing is that it came true.
In the mythological tale of Oedipus the main character tries to avoid
his destiny. In the end however that did not work. He was mentally destroyed
from what he tried to avoid. You see he tried to avoid what you cannot avoid and
that made for drastic consequences. Even the gods like the almighty Zeus pays
heed to his own fate. He knows when his time will come and even he has to obey.
If the most powerful god on Mt. Olympus knows that you cannot fight what is
already decided for you, why shouldn't you?
In closing, we are here on this planet. Is there a purpose for it, or
is this an accident? Why are we here? We would all like to believe that there
is a purpose for being here, but we also want to believe that we all have the
freedom of choice. After all this is America, and we've grown quite used to the
idea. In mythology fate/destiny means you have some purpose. Because we are
here on this small little planet among a vast solar system, among countless
galaxies, we must be here for a purpose. Do you really think this is all an
accident? I don't.