An artist is given a canvas, a paint brush, and a color palette so that he can create. The universe does not tell him which colors to use or what it is he should paint. The universe only gives him what is essential to create a masterpiece. With each stroke of color, an artist is inspired by his own choices, and each stroke of color emanates endless possibilities.

I believe in fate, that the universe gives us a color palette we don’t necessarily get to choose, but I also believe that ultimately, we create our lives; we can choose what we make out of the colors in our palette, the paint brush is in our hands.

We are given a life, opportunities, and the freedom to decide what it is we want to do with those opportunities. We can not control our circumstances all of the time, but we can always control how we react to them. How we react will forecast our futures.

Oftentimes we find comfort in the notion of “what is meant to be will be” because we twist it into an excuse to not pick up the paintbrush, to let brilliant ideas go simply because they do not come easy. We twist it into an excuse for taking those we love and those who love us for granted because if someone decides to leave, “they weren’t meant for us anyway.”

But everything that finds its way into your life is meant for you. What you welcome into your life will continue to flow into your life in abundance. What you do not welcome into your life will eventually get the hint, and it won’t come back.

We are constantly creating our lives. It is important to realize that every stroke made on our canvas will remain a part of the finished piece in one way or another, regardless of how the rest of it comes together.

Even if we decide that we don’t like it all that much. Even if we try to smudge it a little, or paint over it with another color; we might wish we acted a different way, but the way we react to our circumstances cannot be undone.

What you put out into the universe inevitably becomes a part of it, and you will be held accountable. We hold more power inside of us than we often realize, and with power comes responsibility. We should not be reckless with ourselves or with others by thinking that it doesn’t matter what we say or what we do because the universe has predestined us all anyway.

We often put too much faith in fate, and that is why people who love each other are not together, why passions are not being pursued, and why people die with blank canvases that make us all question, “what if?”

The universe gives us a color palette instead of a single color for a reason; it lets us hold the paintbrush in our hands for a reason. It gives us endless opportunities to create the lives we want for ourselves.

As Paulo Coelho said, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”

The universe is ready to conspire to give you everything you have ever wanted. All you have to do is pick up the paintbrush and paint the picture.