The two of us made a bit of a mess of the offering ritual today. We forgot the ritual sequence several times. One or the other of us needed action reminders. And several of the chants were less than perfect. Still we somehow manged to muddle through.

I know the main purpose of the hokora is to entertain the kami, and I definitely sensed a certain amount of amusement from them every time we mucked up.

It was then I had a sudden realization that while we may owe our existence to the kami, it wasn't entirely altruistic on their part.

Bluntly put, the kami apparently have a wicked sense of humor.

We were deliberately made imperfect because the kami were bored with perfection. Our imperfections and unpredictability arising from them are so much more entertaining.

So it seems we are doomed to bumble through this life as nothing more than jesters and clowns — playthings of the kami.

Still going through life prepared to laugh at your own absurdities is not a bad way to live.