In an evolutionary context, fish bones are often small and lightweight to reduce drag and energy costs for swimming, adapting to the buoyancy and hydrodynamic demands of aquatic life.
"That we have purpose for being who we are, and what we are, though we may not always know it." - Carrie Vaughn
The Herringbone is a philosophy of existence built upon a simple observation: every action creates another possibility. Every decision branches into consequences, and every consequence becomes the foundation for the next decision. Like the structure of a herringbone pattern, a human life is composed of countless lines extending outward from a central path, intersecting, separating, and forming new directions. We move continuously through these branches, rarely knowing where they will lead.
Yet there is an unavoidable contradiction within this.
A decision appears simple when it is made. We choose a career, speak a sentence, remain silent, leave a relationship, begin another, forgive someone, refuse to forgive, or simply decide to walk through a particular door. Yet none of these actions exists in isolation. Each alters what becomes possible afterward. The person who accepts an opportunity becomes different from the person who rejects it. The conversation that occurs changes the relationship that follows. Even inaction becomes an action because choosing not to move is still a movement through time.
There is no guarantee that the decision made will lead to fruition. The person who spends their entire life pursuing an imagined future may discover that they have neglected the only period they could actually experience: the present. To enjoy the moment does not mean abandoning ambition, responsibility, or long-term thought. It means understanding that the present is not merely a bridge to the future. It is itself a piece of the life we are creating.
To accept this is not to claim that every decision was correct. It is to recognize that existence cannot be rewritten indefinitely. We can learn from previous decisions, but we cannot return to them. We can only create the next one.
Every decision carries uncertainty because every decision changes what follows. We cannot see the entire structure of the herringbone while standing upon a single branch. We see only the immediate path ahead. Yet we continue walking. This is where the closing scene shared by every individual exists. Whether someone becomes wealthy or poor, loved or forgotten, courageous or fearful, successful or unsuccessful, every possible path eventually reaches an ending. The branches may differ enormously, but the final point remains unchanged.
This final moment is not necessarily what gives life its value. Rather, mortality gives value to the scenes that come before it. Because the story ends, each moment possesses a sense of existence. A conversation cannot be experienced again in precisely the same way. A childhood morning disappears forever. A friendship changes. A person grows older.
The purpose, then, is not to find the one perfect branch. It is to experience the branch we are on while we still have the opportunity to walk along it.
A reminder that the value of existence is found in the movement itself. We are shaped by every choice, every consequence, and every unexpected turn, yet none of us can see the entire pattern while we are living it. What remains is not the path we should have taken, but the path we did take. The moments we experienced, the people we encountered, and the meaning we gave to our brief passage through existence.