You’re driving along the freeway, thinking about nothing in particular, when suddenly you see this sign. No longer mindlessly at ease, you are thrown into a distressing, fearful panic. Here I am, you think, only (state your age) years old, and out of nowhere I am approaching my Fate. Properly up-to-date on technological jargon, you exclaim: OMG!

Are you a believer in Free Will? Or are you a determinist? Fatalism and Free Will are contradictory, although many people seem to adhere to both theories, depending upon the circumstances.

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by some supernatural power. In ancient mythology, there were the Three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They were the three goddesses who presided over the birth and life of humans. In Greek mythology there were Moira; in Latin, Parcae. Clotho was the Spinner, who spun the thread of life. Lachesis was the Disposer of Lots, who assigned to each person his or her destiny. Atropos, she who could not be turned, carried the abhorred shears and cut the thread at death.

So there you are, rapidly approaching the turnoff to Fate. Perhaps it is not a bad thing or, at the least, not a FINAL thing. It could be anything, for Fate is what you have in store for you, up to and including… you know.

As for me, I am what you might call an Accidentalist. I believe that events happen by chance, often without deliberate cause, the working of Dame Fortune. And so when I see this sign for the turnoff to Fate, I reach for a tissue and sneeze into it. Fate is certainly not something to sneeze at but, if I cover my mouth, I figure I may not insult the Moira.