Benzaiten’s White Snakes

On Chance & the Pull of Destiny

“Time is like a river that will take you forward into encounters with reality that will require you to make decisions. You can’t stop the movement down this river, you can’t avoid the encounters. You can only approach these encounters in the best way possible.”

— Ray Dalio

In the spring of 2021, something completely random occurred that would ultimately change the course of my life. There I was, happily enjoying the cherry blossoms over a beer when I just happened to run into an old friend of mine. Now, this was the very same chap that got me into tourism to begin with all those years ago (refer to this article for the backstory) but we hadn’t really been hanging out much since the Airbnb market went to hell in a hand basket. Though the initial rendezvous itself didn’t affect much at all, it set into motion a series of events that would eventually alter the course of my destiny.

So, what the hell does any of this have to do with the deity Benzaiten and her white snakes you ask? We’ll get to that but allow me first to preface the following rant by asserting that this ain’t going to be one of my…