CULTURE FILES // EREC SMITH ON DITCHING OUR DISCOURSES OF DOOM

We all face challenges. They do not determine our fate

By Erec Smith

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EXCERPT //

I abide by what I’ll call “agential fate,” which can be construed as a confluence of pre-established circumstances—one’s life experiences—combined with free will. This agential take on fate, associated with Eastern philosophies as well as Stoicism and cognitive behavioral therapies, can help us address the aforementioned “zip code fate” and much more.

Eastern philosopher Deng Ming-Dao describes “fate” as “nothing more than the consequences of our actions.” Similarly, the Buddhist text Contemplation on the Mind-Ground Sutra, reads, “If you want to understand the causes that existed in the past, look at the results as they appear in the present. And if you want to understand what results will appear in the future, look at the causes that exist in the present.” All of this is to say: Cause and effect is a fundamental concept of life, and a focus on the present and future is more useful than a focus on the past.

Only by focusing on the present and future can one alter the negative effects of one’s past. If we add to this concept that each individual in a particular context may react to stimulus in different ways; that they each may have a different desired future state; and that their decisions and choices matter in relation to achieving those future states, we enter into a place of agency, possibility, and hope.

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