Surrender to Destiny, Respond with Free Will
These days, whenever I try to set boundaries as a parent, my 15-year-old has a favorite comeback: "I have free will!" It never fails to amuse me. My usual response is, "Yes, you do… and you don't."
What is destiny? What is free will? Is our life path predetermined by destiny, or is it the result of free will—the conscious or unconscious choices we make, moment by moment? These are timeless questions that philosophers and seekers alike have asked throughout human history.
As I become more spiritually attuned and mature, I see destiny and free will not as either/or, but as both/and. They are different perspectives of the same mystery, a beautiful paradox to observe and hold.
When I reflect on my own journey, especially the key transitions that led to new, life-changing chapters, I can’t help but sense the presence of both. There were decisions that felt agonizing to make at the time but seem choiceless in hindsight. There were people who briefly entered and exited my life, yet made a profound impact—or, conversely, whose lives I might have influenced—as if our souls had made agreements before this life. There were coincidences so perfectly timed that they felt more like synchronicities than random events.
In all of these instances, it feels as though destiny dropped a calling or clue into my life, and I listened—and responded with my free will.
Imagine life as a great theater. Destiny gives us the script—the setting, the character, the essential arc. But how we choose to embody the role is where free will enters. Some of us forget the role we were here to play, constantly trying to be someone else or rewriting the lines. Others embrace the role, bringing the story to life with dedication, creativity, and brilliance. The same script can produce drastically different performances depending on the mindset and awareness of the actor. We are not here to fight our design, nor are we here to passively follow a script. We are here to co-create with it.
Just like an acorn is coded to become an oak tree, life unfolds from a blueprint carried within us. Destiny conveys this blueprint through callings, intuitions, and synchronicities. If we tune in, listen deeply, and observe intently, we can begin to trace the dots.
Free will isn’t about doing whatever we want, whenever we want, like in a teenager’s mind. It’s about how consciously we participate in the unfolding of life. It’s the power to approach each moment with presence. It's expressed in how we choose to relate to our inner traits and how we respond to outer circumstances.
True flow begins when we surrender to destiny—not as resignation, but as trust. And respond with free will—not from automatic triggers, but from conscious alignment with the inner truth.
And this is the beauty of the paradox: we are both written and writing, shaped and shaping, created and creating.