Individuation: Destiny vs Fate
According to the renowned Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the human experience is underpinned by forces that demand that the individual chooses between inner ideologies (constructs of the inner man) or outer ideologies (i.e constructs of family, culture, religion and society etc). Simply referred to as the paradox of ‘Destiny’ and ‘Fate’, both terminologies are ubiquitously referenced in our everyday language albeit vaguely understood by many.
The unsurprising yet fascinating fact about our entry into this world is that we are unable to choose which family, culture or society we’re born into, nor are we able to choose the encounters we have on our journey. It is pure happenstance, otherwise known as fate. Fate is the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as premeditated by a supernatural power. Destiny on the other hand represents one’s innate potential, inherent possibilities which may or may not come to fruition. The beauty of destiny is that it invites choice. However, ‘destiny’ without choice is only ‘fate’ replicated. Put simply, we are born with innate potential, gifts and talents that allow us the choice of creating the life we want, otherwise, we shall never be more than the sum of what happened to us. While fate may represent events outside our control, we possess the potential, through necessary acts of consciousness, self-awareness and personal responsibility to make destiny possible, hence the idea of individuation.
The author, James Hollis, describes ‘Individuation’ as a developmental imperative for each of us to become ourselves as fully as we are able to, within the limits imposed on us by ‘fate’. That unless we confront our fate, we are tied to it. Meaning we must separate who we are from the experiences we have acquired, what he refers to as our de facto but false sense of self. We must become aware that we are not what happened to us; we are what we choose to become. We must become conscious of this truth, rid ourselves of the myths we’ve acquired or alas we are mere prisoners of our fate.
The paradox of individuation does not infer a detachment from cultural or societal mores, instead, it is built on the premise that we best serve society by becoming sufficiently developed as individuals and thereby being able to contribute to the dialectic necessary for the health and longevity of a society. That we will only become optimally useful to our culture and society when we have something uniquely forged out of our inner self to offer.
Each of us is called to individuate, albeit not all will hear or heed the call. However, if we do not take ownership of our own journey, our own destiny, we risk denying the life forces that led to our incarnation and risk not fulfilling the largeness of purpose to which we have been summoned. In the words of Hollis, we are already on the high seas of the soul anyway, why not be conscious and courageous to know ourselves more fully and know ourselves in the context of the larger mystery in which we exist.
Remember - Your history is not your destiny. You are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul - Alan Cohen; Henry Ford
Peace, Love & Light,