Back to the Future

Trey Smith

Nothing is literally preordained. There is no cosmic force manipulating us at every moment of the day. We cannot predict how the water at the head of the river will make a current at the mouth, but we can know the general course of the river's flow. We know the banks of the river, but what will happen along each mile of that river is still unknown.
~ from Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony by Deng Mind-Dao ~

In my mind's eye, fate is nothing more than the amalgamation of our actions from yesterday and today displayed on the canvass of tomorrow. Though we often are unaware of the steps we take that lead us to a particular doorstep, if we chose to be more conscious in each moment, we could plot out each course taken with nary a mistake.

Chance -- those variables we often are unable to comprehend -- plays a part, but even when chance is present, we still took the necessary steps that brought us to the place where we intersect. Had we made different decisions along the way, then we might have passed by that chance like two ships that pass in the night.