The Rudolf Steiner Archive

54. The Nature of Human Destiny

[ 1 ] There are mysteries of life whose [attempted] solution has not only scientific value, but also, in the truest sense, a value for life itself—a value for our steadfastness in life, for our hopes in life, and indeed a value for our strength to work in life. And among these mysteries of life is, without question, the one encapsulated in the meaningful phrase “human destiny.”

[ 2 ] It depends on how we can endure fate. It must not only be understood and grasped, but also endured. There we see how, seemingly through no fault of his own, a person is led astray by forces.

[ 3 ] It is precisely in the face of this most fundamental question that what we call science—the study of the human mind—is powerless.

[ 4 ] One need only consider a few things—though in the eyes of the soul—and then one will see that this is not the case; that, in a certain sense, to the superficial eye, our fate depends not merely on what happens to us, but on who we are. Compare: A person with a melancholic temperament will experience what is referred to by the word “fate” quite differently than a choleric person.

[ 5 ] We hardly pay attention to the things that come our way as we go about our business, and [how] everything is permeated by them. Every person will, to a greater or lesser extent, have had experiences that led them to resent their fate. But there is a way to come to terms with fate. It consists in self-knowledge—true, genuine self-knowledge—the unbiased look into our inner selves.

[ 6 ] Goethe: “Know thyself and live in peace with the world.”

[ 7 ] Because of the connection [?] that we have lost [?] with the world, and because a painful fate does not always come about through one’s own fault, but through vices / gap].

[ 8 ] The question of the [gap].

[ 9 ] Sleeping and Waking. During sleep: One’s inner essence is withdrawn, in another world.

[ 10 ] We can be grateful to the forces of fate for our misfortune. When it comes to our good fortune, however, we turn to something else. In good fortune, we are passive; we simply accept it. But if we recognize that human lives follow one another and that each subsequent life bears the fruit of the previous one, then we will learn to use our good fortune to sow seeds for future lives.

[ 11 ] Using happiness to connect our actions /?).

Just as on the day you were born into this world,
The sun stood in greeting to the planets,
You flourished immediately [and on and on],
[...]
You must be here; you cannot escape
[...]