Forever and always

Standing on the shore watching the waves roll in
She looked upon his shadow in a daze.
She watched his wings spread, the beckoning of his hand
She stood mesmerized by his eyes and his crooked smile
A surge of longing passed through her to gravitate to his side
But something held her back, kept her from stepping off the shore
And then she heard the voice calling out her name
Desperation laced this voice, pleading with her to step away
Requesting her to turn back, to come back towards the day
She looked around confused but her eyes met only his
She watched her feet walk into the water, pulling her in deeper
Who was she to fight this longing, this need to be with him
He simply stood there silently knowing she would come
Not a single soul had ever escaped his call
But once again the voice pierced the silence, screaming out her name
Begging her to stay, to not leave him all alone
Her head jerked towards the shore and that's when she saw
The scruffy man with the kindest eyes, the eyes she had first fallen for
She paused mid step, her head sweeping back and forth
She looked at the man she loved and remembered the life she'd leave behind
And yet her body yearned to go deeper, to explore the unknown
She saw his knees buckle, all hope vanishing from his eyes
That's when the illusion shattered, she rushed back to his side
Kneeling before him, she held his face and whispered those three words
Forever and always.

Destiny - A matter of choice or chance

Coming back to writing on my blog right now feels like a 'long time no see' moment. It's been over a year since my last post and I can give a million reasons for it, lack of inspiration or a busy schedule etc... but I'd rather just get on with what I've come to write.

People are of the belief that the life you lead is the result of all the decisions you have taken but what if that wasn't true. Have you ever thought whether a persons path in life is already set in stone or is it that every decision they make will change the way their life is headed?
This thought was a result of a conversation I had with my parents while at dinner and a movie called the Adjustment Bureau. My dad was telling me about how practically everything that was predicted for one of our relatives by a 'Jyotish' came true and that there might be some value to the kundalis written at birth. The movie showed that every person has a particular life plan and that the best way for their life is if it moves according to the plan. But then doesn't this simply mean that each person has no free will; if everything is already decided and if these predictions are setting out how a person should live their life then how does the individual decisions of a person impact their life. Is it that all our decisions will take us to the same end as predicted leaving us with just the illusion of free will when in reality it's all pre decided?
I can't get myself to agree that there is only one set path that has been predicted at birth, I believe that each of our decisions has the power to change the future and give rise to new possibilities. Maybe there is a plan laid out for people but it's the choices they make that matter. Maybe there are multiple roadways laid out for every person and their choices have the ability to alter their destiny even if minutely. Only then would it be true to say that it's you yourself who is driving your life. What would be the point of possessing the ability to weigh pros and cons if it is possible to know in advance which way a life is headed and know that that is the only way there is?
Why would a person be responsible for the consequences of their decisions if their future is already decided by whatever forces one would like to believe in? If things are already decided for a person then it would lead to the conclusion that the people you surround yourself with are also already decided after all the choice to befriend a person is just that, a choice. The fact that someone has the ability to predict your future and be right about it has to mean that the future is set and that your choices won't make any difference to what will happen. How then is a persons life a culmination of their choices, how then can it be said that the people you surround yourself with will make you who you are?
Truly believing that what has been written at birth is how your life is going to be is nothing more than taking away your own ability to make your own destiny and giving yourself a way to blame something over which you had no control when things go wrong.