Ball of Confusion
Who isn’t feeling dazed and confused by the chaotic times we live in these days? Ideas of what “normal” means are constantly shifting as powerful forces of global change come together and build momentum. We live in the age of speed; the pace is no longer marked in centuries and decades but in years, months and even days as the chaos intensifies.
We like things to be orderly and predictable so we feel safe and secure. Our need for stability makes living with chaos extremely unpleasant and challenging. We can’t help but wonder, will this ever end? And when it ends, what will it look like?
Understanding that today’s chaos didn’t show up over night and that it comes with a purpose helps put these times into a productive context. What we are experiencing today is a direct reflection of the values and choices we made during the last seventy years or so. As the oceans choke on plastic, air and water quality degrades, extinction rates sky rocket and a virus shuts down the world the message couldn’t be more clear. Everything about our lives today is designed to remind us that we are global citizens, bound by our common humanity and totally dependent upon one another for our very survival. When the vista of the Berkshire Hills is hazy with smoke from the West Coast fires, the truth is there to see. Just look out of the window.
One way to relate to this chaos and help reduce the accompanying sense of overwhelm is to consider what happens when we move house. Whether we’ve chosen to move or not, the process becomes chaotic no matter how well prepared we might be. Between the old home being dismantled and the new one yet to be created lies a period of intense confusion. What to take? What to leave? This, I believe, is where we find ourselves now, suspended between two worlds. The old one that is increasingly malfunctioning and the new one that exists in our hopes, plans and dreams for a better future.
Creation then may be a result of chaos and faith in a new and positive construct is a powerful ally. It makes sense that when old structures break down, new ones can manifest. Seen through this lens we can make healthier choices when it comes to our daily lives. The majority of the stress we are feeling comes from the multi-layers of resistance seen everywhere. Resistance to embracing a new way of being in the future and resistance to those resisting. But no matter how hard we resist, no matter how long it takes, we can trust that the trajectory of the earth’s message will not be altered. It is inevitable that our future depends upon the premise that what is good for us must be good for all of us.
Chaos and confusion is inevitable at this momentous moment in human history but, by placing faith in its inevitable nature and embracing change, we can save our precious energy to create the world we want. A world that sustains us all while caring for our beautiful planet.
