Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 2:02am
The creativity of chaos
Column: Our Place in the Universe
Something about chaos scares us, or at least makes us think it is not a good thing. And yet, without chaos there would be no life, there would be no change, there would be no growth. In fact, there would be no reality.
The reason life exists is because our system is in a "far from equilibrium" balance. If all the chemical reactions in the atmosphere cascaded, one into another, like a pinball machine, the end result would be stasis and we'd be living on a dead planet like Mars.
If we had no chaos about us, we might all end up on the couch in front of the TV without a remote! Even sitting on the porch outside one's house invites our interaction with the unexpected visitor or passer-by. Each interaction brings its own variables, which can profoundly affect life's flow.
However, messes happen with interaction and relationships. Misunderstanding comes with participation and involvement. We not only have to learn how to become better observers, we have to learn how to become better listeners. Our environment is co-created through our interactions and changed by what we observe. When someone sees something differently than I do, it can be a mess, it can surprise me, it can arouse my curiosity, and it can allow me to learn.
Giving and receiving are what generate the energy to exist, to grow and to create. When we are engaged, when we are mindful, the pattern and order of life and love become apparent. A seemingly chaotic situation will demonstrate an inherent orderliness. Chaos is not the absence of order, but the canvas of creativity in life's evolutionary flow. As my boss is always saying, we need to make messes, to learn from messes, to have messes in order to discover the meaning of life and love.
Whenever I feel myself lagging behind my potential, I will throw a monkey wrench into the process. And that is exactly what life is — a process, not a moment in time. This is one reason I embraced the idea of having a 14-year-old boy join our family. Margaret Wheatley spoke of corporations, not families, when she wrote: "The things we fear most in organizations — disruptions, confusion, chaos — need not be interpreted as signs that we are about to be destroyed. Instead, these conditions are necessary to awaken creativity." The idea is the same.
Like the stream that runs over pebbles or rocks, splashing or singing, participating in a dance that engages each obstacle, we also participate with our environment and our reality. Unlike the rest of creation, we often forget that being human does not exclude us from this participation. Our Western worldview of individualism and competition may separate us, and blind us to the joy and meaningfulness of the chaos of collaboration.
I happened to be given the choice of inviting Christopher into my life. This is just what I needed to awaken a new path, to fire new synapses in my brain, to view my same old life from a new perspective. Many times we are not as lucky when what gets invited into our lives is death, sickness, heartbreak or loss — things we don't choose, and don't necessarily want.
Kahlil Gibran says: "When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." The chaos of our emotions is what creates our character, deepens our integrity and matures our mastery of life.
So my life is turned upside down now by this young man from Korea. However, this experience will help me remember that I am not alone in this universe — that the American viewpoint that I live with day after day is only a small part of the larger whole. And that I need help from others to create and re-create my environment so that the chaos around me will achieve some measure and amount of fractal beauty.
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. She has her masters in earth literacy, and is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Anne E. Ulvestad
The reason life exists is because our system is in a "far from equilibrium" balance. If all the chemical reactions in the atmosphere cascaded, one into another, like a pinball machine, the end result would be stasis and we'd be living on a dead planet like Mars.
If we had no chaos about us, we might all end up on the couch in front of the TV without a remote! Even sitting on the porch outside one's house invites our interaction with the unexpected visitor or passer-by. Each interaction brings its own variables, which can profoundly affect life's flow.
However, messes happen with interaction and relationships. Misunderstanding comes with participation and involvement. We not only have to learn how to become better observers, we have to learn how to become better listeners. Our environment is co-created through our interactions and changed by what we observe. When someone sees something differently than I do, it can be a mess, it can surprise me, it can arouse my curiosity, and it can allow me to learn.
Giving and receiving are what generate the energy to exist, to grow and to create. When we are engaged, when we are mindful, the pattern and order of life and love become apparent. A seemingly chaotic situation will demonstrate an inherent orderliness. Chaos is not the absence of order, but the canvas of creativity in life's evolutionary flow. As my boss is always saying, we need to make messes, to learn from messes, to have messes in order to discover the meaning of life and love.
Whenever I feel myself lagging behind my potential, I will throw a monkey wrench into the process. And that is exactly what life is — a process, not a moment in time. This is one reason I embraced the idea of having a 14-year-old boy join our family. Margaret Wheatley spoke of corporations, not families, when she wrote: "The things we fear most in organizations — disruptions, confusion, chaos — need not be interpreted as signs that we are about to be destroyed. Instead, these conditions are necessary to awaken creativity." The idea is the same.
Like the stream that runs over pebbles or rocks, splashing or singing, participating in a dance that engages each obstacle, we also participate with our environment and our reality. Unlike the rest of creation, we often forget that being human does not exclude us from this participation. Our Western worldview of individualism and competition may separate us, and blind us to the joy and meaningfulness of the chaos of collaboration.
I happened to be given the choice of inviting Christopher into my life. This is just what I needed to awaken a new path, to fire new synapses in my brain, to view my same old life from a new perspective. Many times we are not as lucky when what gets invited into our lives is death, sickness, heartbreak or loss — things we don't choose, and don't necessarily want.
Kahlil Gibran says: "When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy. When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." The chaos of our emotions is what creates our character, deepens our integrity and matures our mastery of life.
So my life is turned upside down now by this young man from Korea. However, this experience will help me remember that I am not alone in this universe — that the American viewpoint that I live with day after day is only a small part of the larger whole. And that I need help from others to create and re-create my environment so that the chaos around me will achieve some measure and amount of fractal beauty.
— — —
Anne E. Ulvestad is a free-lance writer residing in Maryland. She has her masters in earth literacy, and is available for public lectures and group presentations and rituals on Spirituality and the Environment. Anne can be reached at {email anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com}anne@ourplaceintheuniverse.com{/email}. © copyright 2007 by Anne E. Ulvestad