What is destiny?

 What is it? Can it be influenced? Can it be changed?
These are questions that various eminent intellectuals - philosophers, theologians, writers - have asked themselves over the centuries. The question of destiny is present in the fates of many personalities, both historical and fictional. The mythical Achilles, the figure of King Oedipus, the story of Romeo and Juliet, they are all linked by the recurring theme of fate. All those mentioned could not escape their fate, which had a tragic ending. Achilles - his mother tried to cheat fate by bathing him at birth in the waters of the Styx. This was to give him physical invulnerability, immunity from injury. The only place that remained vulnerable and susceptible to the blow of any weapon was the heel - it was by the heel that his mother held little Achilles. He grew up, but died in battle, hit precisely in his most vulnerable spot.

Another character who was not destined to escape his (tragic) fate is Sophocles' well-known writing, King Oedipus, father of the eponymous Antigone. A grim doom hung over Oedipus from the moment of his birth, foretelling that the child would kill his father, after which he would marry his mother. The terrified ruler ordered his son to be put to death. His order was not carried out. This set in motion a chain of events that led years later to the fulfilment of the fateful prophecy. Oedipus was unaware of his origins and the tragic role he had come to fulfil.

The case of death from grief after the loss of a loved one, so evocatively portrayed in Romeo and Juliet, also prompts reflections on fate. From the purely theoretical - what would have happened if one of them had acted differently, or waited - to musings on what makes life worth living. For this couple, made eternal in the pages of literature, and many other separated lovers we will not hear from again, one thing was certain. Without the other person, they saw no point in continuing to live. Sublime, beautiful, sad. Someone would perhaps add - immature. But judgement is a highly subjective thing.Let's look at the various cases of so-called "fate" in reality. They can be positive or negative. If, as a result of a coincidence and brave decisions, someone saves another person's life, this too can be called destiny, with a positive ending and a good role model. Such people have recently been showcased through successive editions of the 'Become a Positive Hero' programme. Heroism, honesty and altruism deserve to be shown, and positive behaviour to be promoted as much as possible.
Yet another facet of fatality is when someone miraculously avoids being littered or injured in an accident, then dies tragically in a not-too-long interval. It is then said that he or she cheated death once, but a long life was not meant for that person. This was also the case with Agnieszka Kotlarska, Miss Polonia from the early 1990s. True, she missed a business flight that ended tragically for everyone on board, but she died a few weeks later outside her own home in front of her family at the hands of a psychopathic fan.

Similar associations of unfortunate fate come to mind when one thinks of the Kennedy family. There, tragically and relatively young, both father and son died in two generations. Admittedly, the circumstances were diametrically opposed (assassination of the head of state and avionic plane crash). Nevertheless, both of them could still have done a lot (especially the father, the US president) - and they did not.

An example of overcoming fate may have been the fact that John Paul II survived the assassination attempt, although this was by no means certain from a medical point of view. He himself attributed his salvation to the miraculous intervention of the Mother of God: "Someone's hand fired, another hand guided the bullets" . The bullet that nearly took his life was left by the Pope as a votive offering at the Shrine of Fatima.
In conclusion, the motif of destiny runs through various fields from the humanities to cinema (the series "Deceive Destiny"), ponders, fascinates and inspires....