December 29-B, 2022

**Whitewater 02 09/24/2011 Oil Paint Rendered — New River Gorge National Park, Lansing, West Virginia**

Circumstances initiate consequences,
begetting responses to circumstances,
producing new circumstances,
creating complexity,
noise
and drama--
all brought on 
by things just being what they are,
which leads to
conflict,
confusion
and chaos,
with intermittent periods
of peace and tranquility
while circumstances gather themselves
for another round of disarray.

It is all quite ordinary
and predictable 
in its unpredictableness,
and leads to a wide variety
of unlikely possibilities,
including blue whales
and continental drift.

All because circumstances 
produce circumstances,
and here we are,
saying,
"All this couldn't possibly just happen!
Particularly by things
just being what they are!"

When, in truth, that is all it takes.

The difference between nothing
and apparently nothing
is staggering
over time.

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Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters and five granddaughters within about twenty minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything. View more posts