Is it Fate or Destiny?

What’s the difference between fate and destiny? Are they the same? Are they both predetermined outcome of sorts? I think of that line in the Abba mega hit  ‘The Winner Takes it All’  where it says: The Gods may throw the dice, their minds as cold as ice, while someone way down here loses someone dear….  I can’t say that the idea of my life being dependent on a heavenly crap shoot appeals to me. I like to think that I have a part in co creating my future either by partnering with my fearful mind or by partnering with my inner heart guidance.  Fate for me is the outcome of following my mind while destiny is the outcome of following my heart or my inner guidance or Divine guidance.

Most of us lead our lives using a combination of both approaches. It usually depends on how high the stakes are as well as what conclusions you’ve drawn when looking back at situations where you’ve followed your fearful mind or your heart.

FATE?   You hate your job. You feel like you are checking your soul at the door each day that you show up. You don’t feel on purpose. You know your heart is calling you into a new direction however fear keeps you working at that same job for another 10 years: Your life stays about the same, you try and forget your dream and find happiness in places unrelated to your work.

DESTINY?  You hate your job. You feel like you are checking your soul at the door each day that you show up. You want to feel on purpose.  You know your heart is calling you into a new direction however you’re not really sure yet what that new direction is. You trust your heart and intuition, you leave your job and you create your dream board filled with the kind of experiences you’d like to have in your new still unknown venture. You ask the Universe for help and guidance, you trust inspite of some fear creeping in. Then just when you’re about to give up, the window of opportunity opens  and leads you in a new direction that fills you with inspiration. You love your new life and the new people you meet.

FATE? You are in a relationship that you both know is done however neither of you is willing to admit it or to consider moving on because the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know, in other words you feel safer staying where you are rather than risking that you may never find someone else. You figure out how to make it work.

DESTINY? You are in a relationship that you both know is done. You seek guidance from your heart on what you should do and you clearly get the impression that it’s time to complete and move on.  It’s scary and you wonder if you’ll ever meet anyone again however you can’t give up the dream of a connected intimate relationship so you act in spite of fear and you tell your partner that it’s time for you to go. You tuned into your heart and took your direction from within rather than from your scared mind. A year later you meet someone that exceeds your hearts desire in a relationship.

I haven’t looked up the dictionary definition of either of the terms and I’m not sure for the sake of this observation that it really makes a difference. I think you likely get what I’m saying.  The outcome of following the fearful mind vs. following your heart likely lead to different outcomes however as I say, I’m not so sure we’ll know until it’s all done and we have a bigger vantage point to look back from. I’m willing to hedge my bet that “destiny” is a very different ride than “fate” and I constantly pray and ask for the courage to choose the former.

What are you thoughts?