Flutter: Destiny and the Magic Butterfly

Once upon a time, there was a princess - why? well, why not? There's always a princess. If this was a fairy tale, she's be beautiful with golden tresses, locked away in some dark tower by the evil witch until her Prince Charming would come forth to rescue her, and they would live happily ever after (neglecting of course the quarrels, bratty kids, infidelity, insecurity, old age, death and other nasty surprises that somehow never seem to feature in fairy tales)

But since this is not a fairy tale, let us assume our princess goes to some high end city college. Let us call her Diana - why? well, why not? There's something inherently royal about that name, and besides that way no dame can accuse me of thinking about her way more than I should. She was beautiful, yes. Golden tresses? Well, I'd think she'd look better with shoulder length raven black hair (call it personal taste, favoritism, prejudice - whatever). But here is where we depart from the allegory, 'cos she wasn't locked up in some dark tower and well she most certainly did not need a prince. She was free - yes free. She was what I call a magic butterfly. Let me explain.

To get the complete picture, you have to step out of the frame - this isn't mine, I don't wanna plagiarize, millions have said it before me. So to truly, understand society, you have to step outside it. And what do you get if you do - "Spiritual Enlightenment" (Once again this is not mine, don't crucify me for getting influenced). But our Princess D did not want spiritual enlightenment. No, no - being the distant connoisseur, appreciating the picture in its grotesquely picturesque beauty, she wasn't nearly old enough for that. She was the ghost in the frame, the magic butterfly, if you will (yeah, this one's mine).

What truly binds us to the picture is our ties with people. Yes perhaps life isn't really worthwhile without the mutual trusts and expectations, but then these are the very same things that can truly kill a person. Princess D had no place in her life for these "bonds", she fluttered, "moved from flower to flower". She wasn't cruel, of course not. She was to a person, what a person wanted her to be, but she could move on when she had to. It's not difficult to burn bridges, what are promises but hollow words? Hell, we learn to shift gears in our first driving lesson.
No, no it's all wrong you say, the expectations and bonds are what makes life worth living. Well perhaps, after all if there is no risk, there cannot be a question of a reward. But if you lose your house in a hand of poker, you have to fold in the next couple.

So when Prince Charles would say "Love, there's someone else.", Princess Diana would only shrug gently and when he would blast her for not caring, she would gently kiss him on the cheeks and thank him for a lovely time.

So we have our magic butterfly. Do you feel sorry for her? Do you feel she doesn't know what life really is all about? Well she could tell you that she can enjoy the materialistic life more than you, with your values, bondage and hypocrisy ever can - Spiritual perfection? Please, she's a princess, not the Queen Mother. Why is she like this, you ask? Well maybe she was unlucky with her first love or maybe she lost all faith in humanity after seeing a bull being slaughtered or maybe it's the same reason why an umbrella is not called a minivan. You know what, let us amuse ourselves by calling it her destiny.

Religious? hell no, for most of my life, I never believed in destiny either (sometimes I did, I mean we even believed in Santa Clause, didn't we?). But it's true, we can't escape our destiny, mostly because an event does not become part of our destiny until it happens. I mean if you marry your childhood sweetheart and live happily after (neglecting of course the quarrels, bratty kids, infidelity, insecurity, old age, death and other nasty surprises that somehow always seem to feature in real life), some old bearded geezer will say "Son, it was your destiny". And in an alternate time line, if you broke up with your lady love, the geezer of that dimension will say "Son, it was your destiny" (...and no doubt remind of the quarrels, bratty kids, infidelity, insecurity, old age, death and other nasty surprises that will no longer features in your fairy tale). If you steal and get away - that's your destiny. And if they catch you and lock you up for ten years - well son, we can't escape our destiny, can we? - Very tricky, escaping from this destiny business I tell you.

So Princess D, for the same reason as why a potato is not a tomato, was the way she was, because it was her destiny.

Maybe one day, she'll get stuck to a flower in the picture, solidify and find her place in the frame - Maybe her Prince Charming will come and sweep her off her feet, compel her to believe in all she believed was futile. That would be her destiny then. If it doesn't happen, we'll say she was destined to be the way she was.

Let her be ! It's her story. Watch it blossom, bloom, shine in all its glory, weather great storms, wither away and finally fade to black.

And then one day, when we're all gone, maybe our grandchildren will write a story :
"Once upon a time, there was a princess, destined was she to find happiness, despite herself..."

And well, maybe you don't believe, she will find happiness. Maybe, she won't, but there'd still be a story:
"Once upon a time, there was a princess, destined was she never to find happiness..."

We all live our lives and the deeds we do become our destiny. One day we'll die, having fought with valor, loved with passion. Maybe, they'll talk about our destiny then, but it's not for us to worry about what's written in the stars...