Essay/Term paper: Fate & destiny

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Expository Essays

Fate & 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.