"We see something happen once, twice, three times, and suddenly we stop questioning it. We start believing it’s the natural order. We mistake habit for destiny. We accept that this is just how the world works.
But history isn’t a loop. It’s a series of choices.
Climate collapse? Not inevitable. Oligarchy? Not inevitable. War? Not inevitable. These things don’t happen because they must. They happen because people in power convince themselves (and us) that they must. And when we believe them, when we accept the pattern, we let it play out.
The only way to stop a pattern is to name it, challenge it, refuse to follow the script. The only way to change the future is to stop assuming it’s already written.
Because the past doesn’t dictate the future. Unless we let it."
joanwestenberg.com/pattern-rec…