I asked several friends whether they thought there was a difference between fate and destiny.  The answers I got back were telling and revealed a lot about how each thought.  As for me, the words sound the same but I think they are different.  I can’t place my finger on it exactly but intuitively I know destiny is something truly special, something great about it.

Destiny feels like threre’s an underlying current of grace, faith, and timing involved.  

Maybe choice too.

Does it choose us or do we choose it?

I actually think there is a fair amount of will involved.  Not so much free will but rather something closer to desire.  The ability to will something into existence.

The more I wrote, I noticed things that occurred in the past that would play a role years or even decades later.  It wasn’t just skills and knowledge but also people and events.

But yes, I think we choose our destinies.  It’s not only in what we choose to do but also what we choose not to do.  Something that many never figured out about me was it wasn’t what I said that told the truth but what I didn’t.

Borrowing from the Taoist priest in the Netflix series Marco Polo – in kung fu, one hand tells the truth and the other one lies.  Even in basketball defense, the key really isn’t so much about keeping your eye on the ball but on your opponent’s waist.  That is the real tell to where they intend to move.

A great destiny also requires pain.  I wrote down a series of lessons for my kids and one of them is no cross, no crown.  And also in the words of sage poet Bono – if you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel.

I wrote this back when I was a law student 20 odd years ago in Indiana.

Who do you think you are to dream this way?  

On your knees, mofo.