Hello friends. Many people ask me, where did I disappear to? How nice it is when someone misses you. Thanks guys! I haven’t disappeared anywhere, quite the contrary, I’m starting to find myself more and more, the world is becoming clearer for me, many pieces of the mosaic fall into place, and those that don’t get up don’t bother me anymore. It is such an amazing feeling when it becomes easy and you have the opportunity to see everything more clearly and focus on what is important. We’ll talk about this today - about focus, goals in life and about fate.

I recently heard an interview with Robert Holden, an author and professor of psychology, who said that he thought most people don't need psychotherapy, their problem is lack of focus. Absolutely agree with him. Many of us think that we have a mess in the head, and this is not surprising. This is especially true for people living in developed countries: when your immediate needs are satisfied (for food and a roof over your head), you have time to think about life, about its meaning, about your purpose ... This is how we begin to look for answers to our questions. Thus begins a crisis that, if you're lucky, can lead to an epiphany. When we start looking for answers to questions, most of us use thinking to do this. And only a few can go beyond thinking and get their answers directly from the Source.

Under the control of thought

I write about thinking very often, and it may seem to many that I consider the ability to think very negatively. This is not true. Thinking in modern man has actually gotten out of his control. Most of us cannot stop the chaotic flow of thoughts in our heads, we are led by them, we succumb to their horror stories, we live in a fantasy world created by them, we are sad about the past, we are afraid of the future ... In other words, thoughts control us, not we control them, - in this sense, the reality created by our thinking in the head is called "ego" and is often viewed as something negative. However, it becomes more and more obvious to me that the development of thinking to such an uncontrolled form is simply necessary for humanity in order to reach the next stage of development, namely, to go beyond thinking. In this sense, thinking cannot be considered as something negative, it simply exists as a reality of the present, without it insight is impossible.

Act or trust fate?

When a person sooner or later faces the very questions that are scary to think about, and not to think even more terrible, like “Who am I?”, “What is the meaning of my life?”, “What is my purpose?”, “How to find myself ?”, “What are the goals of my life?”, then most of us use thinking to answer these questions. Since all people are different and differ in character and upbringing, their answers to these questions will be different.

– People who are decisive and energetic by nature are likely to answer this question like this: “There is nothing to wait for answers, you need to act, create yourself, you are the creator of your own destiny, which means, come on, dare, run, push, advance ... ”

- People who are softer and more insecure by nature, as a rule, either turn out to be completely lost, or prefer to slowly go with the flow, hoping that maybe they will be lucky somewhere (get married or win the lottery).

As a result, it turns out that we are dealing with two types of human energy: the first is assertive, aspiring, sweeping away everything in its path, often destructive, selfish and merciless; the second is inert, static, often indifferent and fearful of change. Many of us believe that it is much better if you find yourself in the first camp: you rule, dictate conditions, achieve, buy ... For some, the second camp is more attractive: slowly floating through life, they do not mind if someone there ”, spending their energy and health while they lead a life that is not chic, but quiet.

Is it really necessary to choose?

It is interesting that when people begin to think, look for answers to questions, read all kinds of literature, they will certainly be torn apart by the need to choose which camp they would classify themselves as. Work and “achieve” something in the end, while missing and losing a lot in life, or be content with little, don’t fuss, don’t stress, trust fate, which will lead you on the right path? A familiar choice? Bill Gates says to work, and the Dalai Lama says it's better to relax in silence. But I want both, I want peace and success ... How to be? Is it really necessary to choose?

In fact, if you look for yourself at the level of thinking, then you have to choose. When we view the world with our 5 senses, forgetting that we are spiritual beings, then we exist in the surface reality and seek answers from the outside instead of looking inside. Surface reality (the material world) is governed by the laws of physics. However, most of us forget that there is another reality that we cannot feel with 5 senses (the spiritual world), it is controlled by the laws of metaphysics, our only connection with this world is through the depths of our soul.

What does this have to do with finding yourself, life plans and focus? Absolutely direct. When we function at the level of thought, then it seems to us that we need to choose: to take a passive or active part in life, work or go on a pilgrimage, write reports or recite mantras, advance or retreat, believe in fate or fight, earn money or have a clean conscience ... Thinking pushes us to make a choice, but at the same time it does not forget to remind us that by choosing one, we will lose the other. Thus, it turns out that no matter what we choose, we will still lose? Where is justice in this world? There is justice, but the mind cannot understand it.

Making plans and finding goals in life when a person is absorbed by his own "ego"

Remembering that only a few of all the people inhabiting this planet have gone beyond thinking, it is very easy to see examples of how most people make plans and life goals, focusing on the outside world, forgetting about the depth of the inner world. All you need to do is turn on the TV. All that madhouse that is shown there is the result of the work of limited thinking, our ego, which always exists in an atmosphere of lack, loss, stress, fear, struggle and tension. The more busy we are with our thinking, the further we are from the present moment. And if we add the speed of modern technologies to all kinds of progress, it is not surprising that our brain is smoking and asking for help, not knowing how to digest and process this entire stream of “knowledge”: Where to run? What do you want?

If we compare a person who lived a thousand years ago with us, then we can easily see that physically, including the structure of the brain, we are not much different. However, the amount of information that this brain has to process today is incredibly and significantly different from the amount of information that the human brain worked with in the past. A man living a thousand years ago took many things on faith. However, faith was replaced by science, then television, then the computer. If earlier we could learn about the news of a neighbor from personal communication, now we learn news from all over the world from TV, where in half an hour all the most negative, traumatic and cruel things are collected for us. Personal communication is minimized, one news is replaced by another, someone’s joys, anger, dramas, inspiration, sadness, emotions of all colors and calibers, we, without realizing it, pass through ourselves, charging our body with who knows what energy, forcing our brain smoke from overload.

Hence, it is not surprising that more and more people suffer from depression and increased anxiety, resorting to the help of various sedatives and antidepressants. And the more impressionable a person is, the easier it is for him to get lost and go crazy in all this informational and emotional madhouse.

And if we add to all this the almost complete loss of connection with nature and the surrounding animal world, which has always ensured earthliness to man, as well as the increasing absence of physical work and movements that ensured awareness and attached to a certain moment (to the present), then it becomes clear why, with all the achievements of informational progress, it has become more convenient for us, people, to live in a material sense, but it turned out to be so unbearably difficult to exist spiritually and psychologically.

People no longer know themselves, they physically do not have time to know themselves, learn to listen and hear themselves, they do not know what they really think about this or that matter, most often they simply repeat what they heard on TV or read on the run on the Internet . People also do not know what they really want, that is, they really want, what their soul requires, without which their life would be completely empty and meaningless. They simply copy other people's desires, somewhere they saw or heard, imitating their favorite celebrity, or following the traditionally well-established concept of "happiness" inherent in a particular culture. Car, apartment… bars, restaurants… seaside vacations, shopping in the Emirates… children, dogs… dress like in a magazine, legs like a model… career ladder, mortgage… If someone has something, then I want it too… Why do I want to? And what is behind this "want"? Why do I need all this? And why is there no happiness, even though everything seems to be there? Maybe you need more of what others have?

Is everything in life predetermined? Or is man the master of fate?

Is it possible to plan life by thinking creatures, what do you think? Are you one of those who believe in fate? Or do you think that you yourself are the masters of your destiny? Do you want to know my opinion? I believe in both. Like this? I'm telling.

It all started with meditation. During one of these amazing gatherings with myself, the realization suddenly came to my mind that I once wrote my own fate, drew and drew. This realization was like a bolt from the blue for me.

Before, I didn’t breathe very evenly towards the concept of “fate”. I did not want to believe that someone had once predetermined everything for me, leaving me so helpless, the only thing left to do was to obey the predetermined. On the other hand, I internally felt that I was receiving certain instructions, someone or something was directing me in a certain direction, and when I did not interfere, did not make sudden movements, life itself leads me along the right path, I get exactly those lessons that I need to learn for my personal development. And then it suddenly dawned on me in the literal sense ... I chose my own fate: neither my uncle with a beard in the sky decided for me how to build my life, nor he predetermined for me which stars to be born under and how to place the lines on my hand ... It's me . I drew a map for myself, chose my own destination ... I myself decided to come to this material world, and in order not to get lost and not forget why I am here and why, I picked up cheat sheets for myself. So did I predetermine my own fate? And what follows from this?

Huge exhalation... From this follows the following. I have no one to blame for my fate, for my trials, for those people whom I meet, whom I fall in love with, with whom I do not get along with characters ... I am not a helpless creature whose life is predetermined. I am a creative being that has chosen its own path. I wrote tips for myself, that is, answers to all questions, I just need to find access to these truths. And where to look for them? From TV? From other people's experiences? From the achievements and desires of acquaintances, neighbors or celebrities? Of course not. The answers are not on the surface, they are inside. Another inhale and exhale... The answers are within, as well as in the stars, in the lines on my hand, in my character, in my abilities, on the cards, in my desires, in the magic ball, in the coffee grounds... Everywhere. They are all manifestations of the same thing. All these are hints, signs correctly calculated according to some ingenious formulas that I don’t have to understand at all in order to fully live my life. I don't need to know by what formulas the map was drawn up, I need the map itself.

From the realization that I myself once (but not without the help of some almighty forces) wrote my own destiny, it also follows that I myself am the creator of my own destiny, and the success of my creations will depend on how often I use pre-drawn map. If I look for answers to my questions inside, without looking around, without measuring my achievements in relation to the achievements of other people, then I actively create my own destiny, while not preventing life from going on as usual, I do not interfere, I do not swim against the current, I am actively paddling in the right direction, I am active, not inactive, I create, not destroy... Here is the answer to the question about the relationship between fate and human will. These are not two mutually exclusive concepts. They are different sides of the same thing. This is just something that the mind does not understand. This is exactly the kind of life justice that I spoke about above. Now you can breathe...

The map of life (or at least the compass) must be sought outside of thinking

So, we figured out that there is nothing contradictory in the conscious active movement and the prescriptions of fate. Now we can talk about goals in life and plans for the future, but not at the level of thinking, but beyond it, at the inner level, at the level of the soul.

As we noted above, most people, when they make plans for life (or simply dream about the future), are guided by the outside world at the level of thinking. They are either active or inactive, but, as a rule, both turn out to be internally dissatisfied as a result.

People who act and choose a course of action from the options offered by life usually achieve a lot. But the main question is this: are they getting what they really want? Naturally active people should be given credit for their many attempts and efforts: action is usually better than inaction. However, people waste a huge amount of their innermost energy in vain if they want to achieve everything at once, without knowing why and why. If people draw their inspiration from the outside world, focus on what others want and what life offers to choose from a list of possible options, then they often devote their lives to fighting for incomprehensible values ​​and perceive the world and the people around them as a means to achieve their goals. Often such people also cause great harm to the planet, spreading inner dissatisfaction and negativity, wasting the resources of the earth to achieve chosen goals by thinking.

As for people who are more inert in character, they prefer to be followers of more active people, it is easier for them to go with the flow, plucking the fruits of what life presents them. They also don't know what or why, and as a result, they waste this incredibly valuable life, returning to the spiritual dimension without learning anything.

Fortunately, a third option is possible - active action in accordance with one's own destiny. Finally, we got to the most interesting. Whenever I understand certain simple and brilliant truths of life, I want to scream: “Why is this not taught in school?” The answer is obvious: often the same lost people teach in school and school programs are written, living their lives under the power of thinking.

Active action in accordance with one's own destiny

Remember, at the beginning of the article, I mentioned Bill Gates and the Dalai Lama? At first glance, it seems that they just represent two completely different camps of people, that is, constantly working and striving, on the one hand, and constantly relaxing and contented with the present moment, on the other hand. But this, again, is a superficial understanding. In my opinion, these two people belong to the third camp of people, namely, people who have found their destiny, people who follow their recognition, people who organically perform their function in this world, clearly understanding what it consists of, while doing definitely what they need for it. The manifestation of this function may be different, but this difference is obvious only on the surface. If you take a closer look, it becomes clear that these two people are simply following their destiny. They are so good at it because their goals reflect their inner true desires.

And you know what's the most wonderful thing? When we know our true desires, when we make plans for life and define life goals, focusing and focusing on these desires, it turns out that we already have almost everything to overcome them. Remember, we write our own destiny before we come into this world? Consequently, we choose for ourselves certain talents, conditions, and life circumstances to help us in this earthly adventure. We also select obstacles for ourselves, while providing for what we need to overcome them. We stock ourselves with the necessary provisions. And if we follow our life purpose, we will soon realize that we have everything to achieve the fulfillment of our cherished desires. However, if we do not follow our inner and innermost desires, but copy the desires of other people, then we will soon realize that it is incredibly difficult for us to achieve certain goals. And even more sadly, when we achieve these goals, we do not receive inner satisfaction.

A lot of interesting (and not so) things have been written about the destination. Sometimes it seems like a very complicated concept. My formula for purpose in life is:

inner spiritual desires + desire to help + talents and abilities = life purpose

So, when we come into this life, we have everything we need to become active participants in the life process without having to constantly be in the process of an eternal struggle for survival. The struggle for survival (as well as envy, rivalry, hostility) begins when people, guided only by their uncontrolled thinking, do not use their own cards, strive to achieve what other people need, not knowing themselves, not understanding what they need for their own happiness need. They see that someone has something, and this makes that person happy, hence they believe that this should also bring happiness to them. From here, the modern world looks like a madhouse, where people copy other people's destinies, chase other people's dreams, and no one thinks to look into their own cards. Our own cards are within us, and they are hidden in the clouds of our true desires. These desires are given to us in order not to deviate from the true path.

How do you get access to your individual life map? How to find yourself and your unique purpose? How to be yourself and not try to be someone else? This is what I want to talk to you about in my next article. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the above. What is your understanding of the concept of destiny, destiny and active planning for the future? Are you planning your life? Do you set yearly, monthly and daily goals? What results does this bring you? What do you think is the secret to a fully lived life? I know that these issues are global and incredibly complex, I will be glad to discuss them with you, thinking creatures.

The theme of our departure from life is one of the most mysterious and sacred. For many centuries, mankind has tried to comprehend this mystery. Does fate exist? How free are we to create our own scenario of life? Can a person involuntarily or consciously attract (“croak”) his departure, or, conversely, push back the fateful date by an effort of will?

Death is just a transition

two dates

Psychics and magicians talk about the multivariance of the future and promise any development of events at their sessions. Psychologists assure us that with the help of special psychotechnics it is even possible to guess the "rainy day" and move it as far as possible.
Undoubtedly, each person has a choice of directions in which the life path can change in one direction or another. But… as evidenced by numerous facts and ancient treatises, these changes concern only the basis of life and can occur within two initially programmed dates - the day of arrival in this world and the day of departure. We can influence the quality of our lives, but we cannot change the most important dates.
Researchers from Stanford (California, USA) recently completed an experiment called "Lifespan", which began ... 90 years ago, in 1921. The experiment involved more than one and a half thousand children, who were observed throughout their lives. The analysis of the results surprised the scientists. It turned out that people with a good sense of humor, who had a happy childhood behind them, on average, lived less than others. It also turned out that love for pets, contrary to popular belief, does not prolong life. And marriage, like divorce, does not affect health in any way. Those who are loved and cared for feel happier during their lives, but this also does not affect its duration.

The blind clairvoyant Vanga believed that no one would escape what was prescribed by fate.

Own way
Let us turn to the great clairvoyant and soothsayer Vanga. The niece and personal biographer of the Bulgarian soothsayer Krasimira Stoyanova, in her book Vanga: Confession of a Blind Clairvoyant, cites the following dialogue:

If it so happens that you see, with your inner vision given to you from above, an imminent misfortune or even the death of a person who has come to you, can you do something so that misfortune can be avoided?

No, neither I nor anyone else can do anything.

And if troubles, and even catastrophic ones, threaten not one person, but a group of people, a whole city, a state, is it possible to prepare something in advance?

It's useless.

Does the fate of a person depend on his inner, moral strength, physical abilities? Is it possible to influence fate?

It is forbidden. Everyone will go his own way, and only his own way.

Sathya Sai Baba made a mistake in predicting the date of his own death.

Dark visions

Some people subtly feel the approach of their death. It manifests itself differently for everyone. Someone is trying to put everything in order. Someone begins to be interested in the structure of the universe, to think about the meaning of life, God, the soul. And someone falls into despondency, loses interest in life, as if physically and psychologically preparing himself for the transition to a different form of existence.
The ability to predict one's death is most clearly manifested in the works of poets and writers. Moreover, often the authors in their works not only foresaw the approach of their end, but also described in detail, in detail, the circumstances of their death.

Nikolai Rubtsov predicted that he would die in winter.

Nikolai Rubtsov in one of his poems prophetically wrote:

"I will die in Epiphany frosts,
I will die when the birch trees crack."

Although then nothing foreshadowed the tragedy, he died on January 19, at Epiphany.
Fyodor Sologub in a poem of 1913, 14 years before his death, predicted to himself:

“Darkness will destroy me in December.
In December, I will stop living.”

"In the midday heat in the valley of Dagestan
With lead in my chest, I lay motionless.

It happened just as the poet had foreseen. He died in a duel after being shot by Martynov.
And here the question remains: whether the writers really “saw” something from the future thanks to intuition, or, again, thanks to the gift of imagination and the ability to create their own worlds, they formed their own model of leaving.
In all likelihood, the poets somehow receive knowledge about the future from their subconscious, listening to the inner "I", which is closely connected with the Higher Mind - a repository where there are answers to all existing questions.
This fact is also surprising: many people who do not have the gift of foresight and do not know when their earthly path will end can easily answer how this will happen.

John Lennon became a hermit shortly before his death.

And it also happens that a person is afraid of something and with his fears attracts tragic events. No wonder the ancients said: "We ourselves invite guests to the feast of our thoughts."
The writer Venedikt Erofeev wrapped himself in scarves all his life, fastened his collar tightly, as if protecting himself from a future incurable disease, which later overtook him. The writer died of throat cancer.
The legendary musician John Lennon, shortly before his death, suddenly became a hermit, hiding in his house. As if anticipating the impending assassination attempt, he stopped communicating with the world, stopped going out into the street. Moreover, according to the recollections of relatives, he began to be interested in the topic of murders, imagining with fear what a person feels when a bullet enters his body.
It has been noticed that people who are destined by fate to have a short life live it very brightly and fruitfully, trying to do everything. They say about them: they were in a hurry to live. How many brilliant poets left our world at a young age, leaving the greatest creative heritage to their descendants (M.Yu. Lermontov died at the age of 26, Sergei Yesenin died at 30). While other long-lived talents - only after 40-50 years old began to realize their great plans. There are many artists who have created their pieces over the age of 70. Titian painted the best paintings in almost 100 years. Verdi, Strauss and many other composers composed music until the age of 80.

"The time has come"

There is an assumption that our soul knows about the time allotted to us, and when this time comes, it pushes a person to a critical situation. You can recall the story of the death of the wonderful poet and singer Igor Talkov. The tragedy occurred behind the scenes of the Yubileiny Sports Palace. Singer Aziza asked Talkov, through her friend Igor Malakhov, to speak to her, as she did not have time to prepare. But the singer did not agree. A conflict arose, during which Talkov was killed by a shot from a pistol. The director of the singer Valery Shlyafman was accused of unintentional murder, who tried to snatch the gun from the hands of another person and accidentally pulled the trigger. But, as you know, there are no accidents.
According to the recollections of Talkov's widow Tatyana, the singer never carried a weapon with him, but on that day for some reason he took a gas pistol to a concert. And when a generally harmless dispute flared up, he was the first to take out a weapon and start shooting into the air, thereby provoking Malakhov to grab his pistol loaded with live ammunition. And, who knows, maybe if Talkov had not taken a weapon with him, everything would have worked out. But, most likely, on that day, the inner command of the soul worked - “the time has come”, and in accordance with this, the entire subsequent scenario lined up.
Ancient Eastern texts contain the knowledge that a person comes into this world exactly when it becomes necessary for the general evolutionary development, and leaves it at the hour when the mission is completed. Not earlier and not later. And it is very important to realize that death is not only inevitable and is part of the universal world order, but also that death is not the end, but the transition of consciousness to a higher spiritual level.

Very often one has to hear the phrases "you can't escape fate", "what happens - you can't escape it." Is there a concept of destiny in Orthodoxy? Is everything really predetermined? Or can destiny be changed? If not, then why so many prayers?

economist

Dear Anna, the relationship between the free will of man and the providence of God - a topic that has been discussed since ancient times in patristic writings, stood before the Christian consciousness. Fundamentally, the most general answer can be found in the words of St. John of Damascus that God foresees everything, but does not predetermine everything, and in the teaching of the Church, based on the gospel words, that God sent His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish, but had eternal life. We are all conditionally predestined for salvation, that is, salvation is given to all of us by God's predestination as an opportunity, but not as a compulsion. Yes, the Lord at every moment of our existence leads a person to good and gives him the opportunity to choose - self-determination with good or evil. And even if we constantly stagnate in evil, we have this opportunity until the end of our earthly life. And this is the predestination of God about our salvation. But, indeed, it does not bind our will. The Lord sometimes reminds us of Himself decisively. A person who does not hear His quiet words is sometimes reminded through illness, sometimes through sorrows, sometimes through difficult life circumstances. This is what people call punishment. According to etymology, the Slavic word “punishment” is similar to “instruction” - a reminder, evidence that you can’t close yourself in earthly life, live with illusions that you can only get settled here, and everything can form for you by itself. This is a reminder that you are made for eternity. And this is happening in our lives. Well, then there is our free will.

If we talk about the relationship between free will and grace, then we can recall the image given by Archpriest Valentin Sventsitsky. He says that freedom and grace correlate like this: the Lord gives you an assignment to lift a stone that you are clearly not able to lift, it is beyond your strength. But you obey and start doing it, you make every effort to lift this stone, without thinking about why you were entrusted with it. And when you have used all your efforts, then at some point an invisible right hand begins to lift this stone together with you. He starts to move. But that's not all: at some point, when he reaches such a height, when your hands are no longer enough, this right hand will lift him up without any of your efforts and place him where you were entrusted. This is the relationship between freedom and grace. A person should do everything in his power, but, in fact, the loving hand of God is always next to him, which will support, strengthen, and then do what is above our measure.

Are there random events in our lives, or is everything predetermined in advance? Are all the coincidences in our life an accident or a pattern? My father told me: “Everything that should happen to you will happen, and if not, it will bypass. Everything in life is predetermined ... ". The process of life is nothing but a sequence of events, while randomness is possible only if there are independent processes or events. Thus, we can only talk about the probability of an event, based on the chain of previous cause-and-effect relationships, and then leads to the conclusion that nothing happens in life by chance. And believing in chance is as ridiculous as worshiping stone idols… In many legends and tales of different nations there is such a mysterious and majestic phenomenon as a thunderstorm. The fury of nature has always frightened and delighted people with its strength and uncontrollable beauty...
Why am I talking about this now? I think that in our world everything is interconnected and nothing in life is accidental...
Spring 1962. A wonderful sunny day. Today I am starting to collect documents for admission to the first grade, I will be seven years old in the summer and I will go to school! Mom gave me 1 ruble in one coin for the trip, and I went with my two older brothers, second cousins, to a clinic located in the village of them. Voroshilov to pass the medical commission in form No. 286. I don’t remember how I passed the commission, probably well, because I went to school and 10 years later I completed it successfully. I remember something else ... We left the clinic and it was still clear and sunny, but the air became fresh, the breeze blew and the tree branches began to bend, yielding to the wind more and more. I remember that a feeling of anxiety appeared inside me. The elder shouted that there would be a thunderstorm and that we should quickly go to the bus stop. At first, the three of us, holding together, went to the stop, which was 400-500 meters away, but as the wind increased and darkness fell from thickening clouds, we began to increase the speed and I, as the smallest, began to lag behind the group. First, large drops were dripped, such that when I got on my head or hand, I felt every drop. The rain began to intensify along with the strengthening of the wind, and suddenly, from the earth to the sky, electric arcs began to appear in the form of vertical fiery branches, followed by thunder. The thunder was such that the earth trembled and I was so small and defenseless, I ran, not distinguishing the road from the wet grass, falling into small holes. Hitting one of them, I stumbled and fell on my face into the grass. At this time, thunder rumbled over my head, and, covering my head with my hands, I began to shout to my mother ...
The storm ended as quickly as it began. I went out to the road and after a while I went to the bus stop. There was a bus at the bus stop, PAZik, we called it - half a loaf. Why dont know. Probably for his appearance. Indeed, it resembled half a loaf. The nose of the bus is like a truck, with one door on the right. The brothers sat in the back seat and looked pleased. As soon as I got on the bus, the conductor shouted loudly: "Misha, let's go, close it." I handed the conductor a ruble silver coin, but the conductor did not take it, she began to shout that she did not have a change and that she would now drop me off the bus. The bus was full of passengers, among whom there were many women who came to my defense, shamed the conductor that she clung to the boy, especially since he was with money and it was not his fault that there was no exchange. But the driver Misha reassured everyone: “Let him go for free, my daughter was born, Alyonka.” 30 years have passed ... Spring 1992. A wonderful sunny day. I'm in office number 308 on the street. Gastello, 4 sorting out criminal cases. Capercaillie, capercaillie, capercaillie ... Robbery, theft from an apartment, theft of a purse from a kindergarten teacher. So, they steal from poverty. Elena, March 6, 1962, address, phone. We need to see and help. They didn’t see strangers, everyone suspected their employees from among the assistants ... Needless to say, I uncovered this theft, which was committed by a minor, and she had employees of several kindergartens in the city listed as victims on her account and several dozen thefts followed her ... We must needless to say that in 30 years I will meet with the driver Mikhail Alexandrovich - he still continued to work as a bus driver, but already a big yellow Hungarian Ikarus, and his daughter Alena was a kindergarten teacher who had her wallet stolen with the last money, she will become my wife and in a year she will give birth to my son Marat ...
Are there random events in our lives, or is everything predetermined in advance?
I think my father was a smart, deeply religious man and he was right...

Peace to your home! God knew everything what would happen from the foundation of the world, and whoever thinks that it is he who is changing and that he is changing for the better is a delusion. God has locked everyone in disobedience in order to have mercy. You have counted the hair on your head, and everything that happens to a person - good or bad - everything is from God. If Jesus predicted to Peter that he would betray Him, then He knows what will happen to all people, He knows what will happen to the devil, He knew what will happen to Judas, Sodom, and so on. Does it mean that no matter what we do, everything is predetermined and salvation does not depend on us? Judas was also an apostle. My question is am I wrong?

Priest Philip Parfenov answers:

Dear Rostislav!

Your question has not been fully clarified and clarified, most likely, no one will, since it rather refers to a mystery that is completely beyond our understanding. But you can still try to partially answer. If we were all programmed robots, then no calls for love, forgiveness of offenders, fulfillment of commandments, avoidance of evil, etc. would make no sense. On the other hand, is the foreknowledge of human actions necessarily predestination? If we ourselves can predict the behavior of someone whom we know well due to the properties of his character, and such predictions come true, then it can hardly be argued that our predictions caused the corresponding behavior! It can only mean that in those specific situations, those people had too limited freedom of choice, their choice could be easily predicted, or they did not have this freedom at all. But otherwise, we still have freedom, albeit within a limited corridor, and there is also a certain predestination in the form of fate. But in the end, neither our freedom to do this or that, nor our predestination in the form of fate will be of decisive importance, since God's salvation is not given for something, but solely by His grace and love. And it is important to accept this mercy and love in your heart, believe in it and sincerely wish to join it! Then this faith itself begins to bear good fruit, with our own participation, and various things already flow from it. And to whom this faith is not given, it cannot be asked. So if there is any predestination from God, then first of all to the salvation of all (as you quoted, that God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience in order to have mercy on everyone). And only those who maliciously resist and love darkness, God, of course, will not be able to save against their will.

By the way, I had to answer a similar question here:

Sincerely, Priest Philip Parfenov.