The mathematical theories of chaos and complexity tell us a lot about the cycles of chance and change, otherwise called destiny. But we have known this intuitively for thousand of years. Ritual will no more guarantee our fate than beating on a drum is guaranteed to bring rain. --Fear or guilt about not participation may harbinger ill, but that says more about our own fears than anything!
The thought: I am impermanence itself is good to bear in mind. As I see it, the most we can do is to give things our best shot-- even with fingers crossed and whistling in the dark as we pass the cemeteries of dreams long past.
Cycles of change and chance
command life's rhythm and rhyme;
They are inevitable--essential--
within this jambalaya of unpredictability.
Striding this pitted trail with breath held ransom
we find the constellations transient.
Save for the mythic, there is no constant star
nor absolute touchstone.
Truths do not lie chiseled upon ritual:
total objectivity is a desert mirage.
