Fate and Prophecy

Gan Shiau Yin (154568) --- (4th entry)

 Prophecy.   Fate. 

  These words have been crossing my mind for the last two days. I have related them to the two stories I have read. I have also compared them with my own culture.

  In "Macbeth", the witches told Macbeth his fortune. As a result, he fought hard to achieve it. In "Oedipus Rex", Oedipus's father was told by a fortune teller that his son would kill him and marry the mother. As a result, he tried to fight against it. But in both stories, the prophecy came true.

  I remembered last semester (while we were doing 'Oedipus' with Dr Habsah) about the different views I have heard on the topic of prophecy and fate. Some believe that we can escape our own fate. Others believe that we can change it.

  Before I continue further, I would like to explain a bit about my culture as well as my experience in fortune telling. In Kelantan, there is still the practice of fortune telling. The way to read our fortune differs; some through reading our palms, some through tarot cards and some through our birth date.  It is common that we hear people suggesting to others who are facing hard times to go seek a fortune teller. A fortune teller could be a human or they could also be a higher being. I am not sure where to find a human fortune teller, but I do know of where you can go to seek some advice from a higher being. Normal humans cannot see nor can they talk to any higher beings. This can only happen when there is a medium present. I can only explain a "medium" as a person that is chosen by the higher beings to be temporarily possessed so that they may give guidance to the normal human beings.

  Since I was young, I did not like the idea of fortune telling. I was afraid that my future might not very bright.  Or that if I know my future, it might never come true; like the Chinese saying "the secret of the heaven cannot be told/known" (A rough translation. This saying means that we are not suppose to know the secrets of heaven. If it is known, then it might not come true.)

  But last semester break, my good friend, who was facing some trouble with her life, asked if I was interested to go see a fortune teller. And I said yes. The fortune teller was an old man. He asked for our birth date, month and year. Next, he flipped through an old looking book with Siamese writing. After that, he asked what we wanted to know.

My friend was first. The old man was very good. He told my friend what her problem was and told her not to worry as she will meet a person who will help her with her problem in a month time. A month later, what he said come true.

 I was next. I had no idea what to ask, as I was not facing any trouble in my life. So my friend suggested that he told me about my general fortune/future. After a few seconds, he told me that my life was good. That "the god is looking after me" (His exact words). So until today, I still hold true to his words and believe that life is good to me and I can achieve whatever I want to achieve.
 
  In a way, I do understand why Macbeth held on to the witches' prophecy and did whatever he thinks is necessary to make it happen.  I also understand why Oedipus's father was trying very hard to make sure his fate never came true. I believe that humans need reassurance in their life. Human wants security in their life. Macbeth wanted the reassurance that he will be king and he got it from the witches' prophecy. As a result, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth took some brave steps to make their dream came true. In  "Oedipus Rex". Oedipus' father wanted to be sure that he would not be killed by his son, therefore, he tried to kill Oedipus when he was just a baby.
 
Today, if a person ask my opinion on fate and fortune telling, I would tell them that I do believe in them. I believe that we can change our fate for the better or worse. If we ever did anything bad in this life time, we will definitely pay for it. We might not suffer the consequences in this life time, but we will definitely suffer during our next life time. Also, if a fortune teller tells me that my future might be dark, I will definitely take the necessary steps to make it a bit brighter. Although I am not sure if I would take the same drastic steps that Macbeth and his wife took in the novel.