I first learnt about the concept of blind destiny when I was studying Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy at the university. I found it interesting at an intellectual level, like I found Stendhal’s idea of the novel as a mirror being carried along a roadway, but that was about it.
My religious education, and maybe natural inclination to fight it out, never really let me believe that, in this life, we are just subjects to some uncaring game of chance.
The other day this notion popped back into my mind and I was thinking: What would it be like if destiny was indeed blind? Then it would take away any kind of responsibility from our part and we could just throw our hands in the air and say: Out of my power, it is destiny’s business.
Life is not like that though, although I understand it, I totally get the idea that it would be nice to just give up responsibility and let somebody else or something else carry the burden for a while.
This idea is exemplified beautifully by some people in Romania who have come to believe that it was better when we were under communism. Not sure about better, but it was indeed a lot easier.
The State gave you a place to live, tiny, but you had somewhere to call home, you had a job, there was not too much food but you were not actually starving, you did not have the freedom to do much, so most often you did not do anything, so yeah it was indeed easy.
Life was easier because the responsibility was taken from you and the state infantilized you. But do we want that? Or is it better as the French say Plutôt mourir debout que de vivre à genoux! ? (Side note: I checked on that saying and it seems the first time it was said it was in Spanish.)
I honestly do not know what is best, but back to our blind destiny.
I do not think we are subject to a blind destiny, I agree there are things that happen that are out of our control, but that being said, I think that most often we are the ones that are blind to our own destiny and do not take the paths that are open to us.
Choice which can indeed make us think that we are not in control, but it is a false, maybe easy and comforting, way out.
Being a human is so interesting, we open to so many things, subject to so many things, able of so many things, so fragile but yet so resilient, very interesting. I love it to be fair with all its pros and cons.
While writing this post about the blind destiny a tarot card image popped into my mind, the eight of swords:
A good representation, I think, of this notion, you believe you are stuck, that your hands are tied and your eyes blindfolded, that you are a prisoner in a no exit situation, but if you set yourself free, open your eyes, you would see that you can actually just walk out and find your path.
Isn’t this a beautiful example of how archetypes come together from different sources? Books, tarot, our minds?
Lots to think about - I love the tarot illustration! Thank you.