Everything in the universe is completely random. Nothing is meant to be and nothing is meant to not be, everything just be.
I think we are active players in our lives, though of course, God has planned it for us already. But we are still the ones who make things happen, or not make things happen. One can be the best football player in the world, if only he practiced enough and stopped partying all night long. One can be the best father in the world, if he just came home early each night. Things like that shape our future and shape our lives. We might think that this one thing is our dream, our goal, but we may realise that it isn't, in the end. So things are meant to be as God had planned it but it can't happen unless we push ourselves to achieve that goal.
Prophecy proves that some things are meant to be. When someone makes a prophecy, no matter what anyone does eventually the prophecy would be fulfilled. It could be that the action taken to stop the fulfillment is what actually makes everything happen. Question though is in life, how do you tell what is or what wasn't supposed to happen?
"To be, or not to be...that is the question" -William Shakesphere. To an extent, human beings have a blend of fate and destiny. There are things that you are able to change with enough time and resources, while there are other aspects of life that lend themselves more to the architecture of predefinition and the canvas of fate, painted in advance for the bigger picture before they were able to get there. Some people say that you don't get to choose their parents or where they will be born, but how do they know for sure? That is yet another question to be answered between the jungle of inquisitions of life, purpose, and future. Where are you headed? Is it meant to be? Should it be questioned? Or not? Sometimes the answers just bring more questions.
I really don't believe that things are meant to me. Things happen by the choice we make and things we do. We may tell ourselves that to get through things but it isn't the case. There are some terrible things that happen and I can't see that they were ever meant to happen.
I believe that things happen because they were meant to be. Even if there are bad things that are happening to us, I believe God has a reason for it. Even if God gave us free will, what was planned will happen. I believe that before we were born, we were angels beside God, and we planned things that will happen with my life on Earth. It's like a lesson plan for a student and teacher.
I think you call those people "destiny-driven" or fatalistic. I can be once in a while but there are also times when I try to be more assertive so that I can really get the things that I want. When it starts spiraling out of control, when I realize that hardwork won't affect the results and before me is just a hit or miss, I leave it all to the powers that be.
I don't believe anything is preordained. While I do believe there are many things that are out of control, there are many things that are in our control. Particularly the smaller everyday actions.
I don't believe that anyone can escape their fate. That's why some of the most unlikely things can happen. A number of weird coincidences and synchronicities are proof enough that some things are meant to be.
