You’d have to be living in a cave on a mountain top not to notice the pace at which things in our world are shifting. Whether on the social, economic or environmental front, news reports – and our personal experience – are telling us that the world is changing in ways and at a pace that make it impossible for us not to pay attention!
What is that larger context within which our lives are unfolding? How many of us ever stop… take a breath… and give it any thought?
Today’s conversation is an invitation for you to begin to think about it. Without a sense of what that larger context is, we have no way of being able to make friends with and become adept at engaging the forces of Chaos and Order in our own lives, as forces of creation.
When I was growing up, chaos was not a good thing. The language of chaos was used when things were falling apart or at least, seemed as if they soon would! It referred to those times and events that were evidence that all was not as it should be; that things were not replicating with ease; and that people and events were expressing in unfamiliar or unwelcome ways.
Order was the intended outcome of the day! Neat and tidy; ducks in a row; with t’s crossed and i’s dotted, all leading to that long, deep exhalation that all was as it should be and we could relax.
Predictable. Reliable. Safe. These were the notions tied to the expectation of ‘order’, letting us know that all was ‘right’ in the world!
Upset! Broken! Dangerous! These were the notions tied to the anticipation of ‘chaos’, letting us know that the end of the world as we knew it was close at hand and we should brace for impact.
In my world, there are no absolutes. The experiences of ‘chaos’ or ‘order’ are expressions of my judgement of an outcome; tied to an existing framework of beliefs, values and attitudes that have come together to lay the platform on which I stand, to live my life. It is not an event, itself, that determines whether something is an expression of chaos or order – it is the beliefs I hold that make it so.
What is the connection between chaos and order? How are these the back and the front of the same hand? How else might we come to see their expression in our lives; and notice that their potential lives, at all times, inside of us always ready to be harnessed as we see fit, to create the life of our choosing?
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The following closing thoughts can be found at the end of:
Episode 47 of ‘Reclaiming Your Self: Women Unedited and Engaged!’ on the topic of ‘Chaos and Order: Forces of Creation‘.
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As we bring this conversation to a close, there is no requirement for it to come to a close, inside you… where you live… as you begin to notice how these forces play out in your life; and how else you might come to consider them.
Here are a few things for you to keep in mind as you move into the coming week.
- Consider the possibility that you are indeed, creating it all! Imagine a world in which your internal states are reflected in the external world through which you move, on a daily basis. Your thoughts lead to your choices; and your choices become the quality of your life. Begin by paying attention to the state of order or chaos, in your own thoughts. What is your inner state as you ponder your thoughts? What happens to that inner state when you change what you think about? Are you willing to think new thoughts? Do you spend your time thinking the same thoughts… over and over again… yet, expecting to create a different life? Begin by bringing into your awareness those thoughts that far too often run, constantly, at the back of your mind; outside of conscious awareness, yet profoundly shaping how we feel about ourselves. It’s not about making a list of them – it’s about allowing them into the light of day of your own attention; and being willing to name them and claim them as being present in your life. Blinding ourselves to them will only ensure their ongoing presence.
- As you continue to bring to mindful awareness those thoughts that are drifting through your mind, add to your inventory the ability to now calibrate for your body’s response to each thought. Which ones cause you to stop breathing? Which ones bring a sigh of relief with the body opening and relaxing? And notice what happens when you think a thought that allows your body to soften… and relax… and open; and holding that pattern of breath and body tension, you bring into that a thought that would normally cause your body to collapse? Focus on breathing easy and deep yet, while doing so, think about that thought that caused the tension in your body. Let yourself explore and discover what happens when you focus on your body and allow the thought to be ‘digested’ instead of trying to figure it out with your head!
- And finally, consider the possibility that the forces of chaos and order emanate and flow FROM you rather than AT you! Allow yourself to notice those sparks of life and anticipation that come from those moments of chaos. Let yourself consider that what moves through you is not always ‘fear’ or ‘dread’ but may well be the sense of ‘excitement’ ; or that state of awakened presence that is non-essential in a world of perpetual order. Entropy is a naturally-occurring process in all living, organic systems and you and I are living, organic systems. We’re not supposed to be the same.. to stay the same – we’re supposed to grow and evolve and become! The tighter we hold on to what is, the greater the intensity of the force that will press against it. Without those moments of bifurcation and impending collapse of what we have always known, we cannot become the ‘more’ that we are intended to be! Perhaps the more relevant and meaningful question becomes: Can I trust the godforce that I am to create a meaningfully sustainable life? And am I willing to make room for that, in my life?
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