It was raining gold. The hazy autumnal light caught the cascading leaves, brilliantly illuminating them as they gently drifted to the pavement. The noonday sun, already sinking low to the horizon, stretched out the branches’ shadows, creating a speckled mosaic on the ground. 
Down here in South America the season has suddenly shifted to the cold, just as it has no doubt for my northern counterparts, sprung into warmth. And as we swiftly move into our shoulder seasons, it becomes evident once again of the continuous movement of the earth, the never ending cycles of life, death, and rebirth. 
Fall in Buenos Aires
With this timeless perspective of constant change, we are forced to take a step back and look at our place within it. What is our individual role in relation to this incomprehensible experience of the world forever rotating, the life giving star directing movements of growth and decay like a grand conductor of the heavens?
As I walked through today’s gilded shower, I have to ask once again:
What are we really in control of? As the earth turns and the seasons change – are we but a cog in a great machine? Are we simply reacting to the environment around us? Do we have free will? 
Yes dear reader, the response to last week’s question was so plentiful, I’ve decided to make a two-parter. To that end, I have a sampling of your fellow classicists’ musings with more to come next week. 
In the meantime, feel free to contribute to the conversation with your own ideas on what is in man/woman’s control. What can we choose? And do we have free will?
As always, you can write to me directly or comment below.