I pulled an oracle reading this morning—20, Contemplation, and 8, Holding Together. The lines hit me like a quiet nudge: "The ablution has been made, but not yet the offering. Full of trust they look up to him." And then, "Holding Together brings good fortune." I didn’t think much of it at first, just scribbled it down and moved on. But as the day unfolded, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something to it—some thread of meaning weaving through the randomness of my day. (Curious? Check out the full reading or cast your own at oracle.truesight.me.)
It all started with a quick stop at Zibo’s campfire after stepping out of my car. The morning air was crisp, and Zibo mentioned Wanda was putting together a fruit salad for breakfast. So, I wandered over. Wanda, with a little twinkle in her eye, had a surprise waiting—she’d snagged a bottle of chili soy sauce from the food bank, had no clue what to do with it, and somehow thought of me. I laughed as she handed it over, this random little gift. Then she mentioned two bottles of oat milk she’d also gotten—would I be up for brewing a cup of cacao to pair with breakfast? Naturally, I obliged. Bridget was there too, but she had to duck out before the cacao was ready. “There’s always another chance,” I told her as she headed off to shower.
After breakfast, I decided to run into town. My daughter Mulan had mentioned wanting a quartz for her birthday, so I started poking around the outdoor booths in Quartzsite, Arizona, hopping from store to store until I found one I think she’ll love. Just as I was wrapping up, guess who I ran into? Bridget, of all people—small world out here in the desert. She was with another nomad whose chair I’ve been shamelessly stealing at drama circles lately. Turns out, they were at the booth of a guy named Michael Johnson. I vaguely remembered Jen mentioning this spot—she’d stopped by recently and left her drums there. I’d even texted Jen a while back about displaying our cacao bags at a booth like this in the Tyson Wells area, an idea sparked by Elinor way back in May at the Okanogan Barter Fair up in Washington. Jen said she’d ask Michael, but I never heard back. She’s since rolled out to Ehrenberg for Skooliepalooza, and I’d pretty much given up on the booth idea for this winter.
So there I was, half-resigned to letting it go, when Bridget called out my name. I walked over, and sure enough, she introduced me to Michael Johnson. I figured, why not throw the question out there? I asked if he’d be open to displaying our cacao bags. He said yes, as long as there’s a markup—which works perfectly with our setup. We retail at $25 a bag, wholesale at $17, so the difference fits his needs. He was stoked, and just like that, we placed six packs at his booth. Even better, he suggested I come by starting the 16th when the crowds pick up, to brew cacao on-site and share it with folks. Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.
Here’s the weird part: turns out Michael was at Zibo’s campfire that morning while I was cooking bacon. He already knew of me, even though I didn’t quite place him at the time. This whole string of events—from Elinor’s casual suggestion in May at Okanogan, to Jen’s unanswered text, to landing here seven months later with cacao bags on display at Michael’s booth in the middle of a Quartzsite winter—it feels like pure chaos, yet somehow it holds together. Like there’s a hidden order in the randomness.
Chaos Theory, I-Ching, and a Cacao DAO
This got me digging into a thought that’s been nagging at me. I’ve come across some research tying the I-Ching—y’know, the ancient divination system I drew from this morning—to chaos theory. The idea that seemingly random events might have underlying patterns or connections. My oracle draw of Contemplation and Holding Together felt almost too on-the-nose after a day like this. Was it just coincidence, or is there something deeper at play?
Key observation: Our cacao project is run by a DAO—a decentralized autonomous organization. No single leader, just a community making decisions together in a way that often feels messy, unpredictable, even chaotic. But today, watching these chance encounters and forgotten plans snap into place, I started wondering—are we stumbling into some form of chaos theory applied to how we organize ourselves? A DAO runs on distributed actions, individual choices, and outcomes that emerge from the noise. No one orchestrated me running into Bridget or Michael already knowing me from Zibo’s campfire. Yet, it worked out. Is that chaos theory showing up in a social experiment? Or am I just overthinking a lucky break?
Reflections for the Day
I’m still chewing on this as I sip my evening cup of cacao, the desert quiet settling in around me. There’s something almost poetic about how the I-Ching spoke of trust and holding together, and then the day handed me this winding, messy path to a small win. Maybe chaos isn’t just a mess to clean up—maybe it’s the raw stuff of creation, if you’re willing to ride the wave.
What about you—ever had a day where the randomness somehow clicked into place? Or are you seeing patterns in the chaos of your own projects or life? Share a thought below—I’d love to hear how you’re navigating the unexpected.
- Nomadic Life
- Chaos Theory
- DAO
- I-Ching