variations : process symbolized by stepping stones : a meandering path toward the ritual ceremony : some stones are small and close together and slow one's pace and force the visitor to look downward l while others are larger and further apart and therefore encourage one to pause along the way and take in the scenery or engage in contemplation : the stones echo the qualities of time : the differences in frequency that are our perceptions of time, the differences in circumstance that we may attribute to choices we have made along the way : variations take on the life of their own and become an end in themselves having begun subordinate to the theme : they are now lines and colors which are subjects in their own right, they are layers that have obscured the original intent
