I define destiny as an end-result arrived at due to choices made with a free will. How do you define destiny?

Question

I am interested in serious, mature definitions of exactly what people believe "destiny" to mean. I do not believe destiny requires a predetermined course and am interested to know if anyone else believes that free will and destiny can, and do, co-exist. While I am a very spiritual person and believe totally in God, I do see that free will and destiny do not require God to exist. Thoughtful responses and ideas, please?

And by the way - Insults to my character due to my beliefs are not necessary, although you may certainly include them and feel assured I will view them as the drivel they are! I love free will, don't you? :o)

Answer 1

I cannot agree with your definition, I'm afraid.
OK, If you jump from a tall building you are destined to hit the ground, but that's a trivial case. The laws of physics as destiny.

An individual, having made good choices with a free will can still be taken out by a drunk-driver jumping the lights. A destiny he did not determine.

Robert Kennedy could easily not have survived on PT109

I personally would not use the term, but I take whatever usage a writer intends, from the context.

I go with Ecclesiastes.
"... the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

I think Winston Churchill's on my side:
"We cannot guarantee victory, but only deserve it. "

No, there is no destiny, unless gods play games with the fates of men.

Answer 2

You're confusing consequences or just desserts with destiny.
___destiny: 1. The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; lot. 2. The predetermined or inevitable course of events considered as something beyond the power or control of man. (American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd college ed.)

___Freedom of the will and destiny can coexist. The laws of physics are a form of destiny, in that they limit complex and simple causes to particular outcomes. On the other hand, there is some indetermincy in nature, especially at the quantum scale, and this can be exploited by highly organized living beings to attain a measure of freedom of behavior.
___This freedom of behavior allows us to act in the world in such a way that gets law-bound physical events rolling, and once rolling, these proceed in "predestined" manner.
___The dynamics are a lot more complicated when two free-willed beings go head to head, though.

Answer 3

I have read that desire and destiny are the same thing and that you cannot have a true desire that does not manifest. So in other words what you desire right now only has to unfold and hence be your destiny.
I don't know if it's what I believe, but it certainly is a lovely idea. I guess it doesn't help (in my case) that I keep changing my mind about what I want. I guess though that TRUE desire really comes from the heart and not the mind.
Thanks for the question!!! I have just had a realisation..... my head is getting in the way.

Answer 4

destiny to me is simply the outcome of your actions, pretty much the same as you defined it. I do not believe in God as defined by any religion, although I am familiar with the concepts of Pre-destiny -- I do have to say this is ridiculous to me (not because any religion suggested it, but because it has no basis on reality AND is it self-incriminating to almost all religions.) you and the conversations you have with yourself are making the decisions that impact your life, not a predetermined destiny. and it's not just your choices that impact you, it's other people's choices as well... so don't think it's as simple as what you choose to do today, you need to include the bigger picture here

Answer 5

I do believe that your destiny is predetermined, although it is reached through your own thoughts and actions. I think that we are all here for a reason, and individually we are destined for something. Not necessarily something specific, but something in general . And we develop towards that destiny as we grow . And we grow through our thoughts and our actions. If we make the wrong choices we may never reach our destiny.
I also believe that god is in each of us. People joined together as one make up the entity we know as God., therefore we can not live or have free will, or reach our destiny with out Him.

Answer 6

I would like to know what destiny is too also you can love god all you want to, that is your belief, free will means that you don't have to do anything you make your own choices, not all people might agree with some of your choices and then again some of them might.

Answer 7

Destiny is a pre-chosen action by someone above you. Something you can't get out of.

Answer 8

I define destiny as facts which exist in the "Objective" realm of reality in the actual world. Free will exist in the "Subjective" realm. Objective facts differ from Subjective facts in that-Objective facts are as is regardless of what anybody thinks about them. Subjective facts are subjected to beliefs and mental concepts, "Free will."
That being said you are Destined to Die. You are Destined to eat, drink, think, and sleep. The actions that you will perform in this life have nothing to do with destiny as it is a fact in the Subjective realm.
We have a free will....Yes....However, destiny are pre-determined facts that are as is regardless of who we are or what we think.

Answer 9

This is a good definition but you need to realize that free will too has its limitations.

Within the confines allowed we do practice a certain amount of free will.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 10

another arbitrary word in an arbitrary world.

"Those who see worldly life as an obstacle to Dharma
see no Dharma in everyday actions.
They have not yet discovered that
there are no everyday actions outside of Dharma."
-Dogen