The Cyclical Nature of Things

Look for the patterns

Waiting for the Thaw (Arctic Whaling Scene) by William Bradford, 1877 (Wikimedia Commons - public domain)

“The old wheel turns, and the same spoke comes up. It’s all been done before, and will be again.” — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1914

In Western Christianity, the first day of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) is called Ash Wednesday.

And on that day, many people attend church services and receive ashes on their forehead accompanied by the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

This is a direct reference to a line from the Bible in which Adam, who had been created from the dust of the earth, was informed of his mortality after being expelled from the Garden of Eden:

“For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” — Genesis 3:19

And on Ash Wednesday, it is a reminder that we are born, we live, and we die. We have no control over the beginning, limited control over the ending, but much more control over what we do in between.

It’s the circle of life.

And th…