A dancing star

 

"Order creates, chaos gives life" — Robert Bresson

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You may think, chaos gives life? How so? Chaos is bad! Well, yes and no. Of course, it can be bad, if we let it consume us and dominate most aspects of our lives. But then, we would be creating from chaos, not from order. Now, if we in fact create a solid foundation from order, chaos can give life to the rest. Allow me to explain further.

Have you ever tried to establish or modify a certain habit in your life? Whether it is working out, eating healthier, quitting vices, or simply anything that enriches you as a person, I'm sure you can identify with the initial difficulty of doing so. Until not long ago, I struggled so hard to maintain a daily routine that fitted my life goals. Okay, maybe I still do, but I'm working on it, okay? No judgment in this space, not from me and I hope not from you either. The point is, I was crashing face-first against the variability of life every time I tried to set some kind of order in it.

I'm a very punctual person. I hate being late, it makes me sick. And I noticed that I was kind of applying that pattern to my daily schedules. For example, if I had said to myself I would meditate first thing in the morning, and then it turned out I was too hungry to do it without having breakfast first, and then something else happened and voilà it's almost noon already... Well, I'd feel like I was late to my appointment with myself. And I would feel completely discouraged to perform the task I initially had wanted so hard to become a habit.

I think it's only when we accept that chaos is useful to us that we can fully make the most out of our days, with clear goals in mind and the disposition to work towards them, one step at a time. Can't meditate every morning at the same hour? Find ten minutes during the day. Can't workout today because you're sick? Go out and take a little walk. I know, it's harder than it sounds, and that's why I insist on taking it a day at a time. What's essential is that you create your life from order, first.

I would like you to take a moment to write down a few of your core goals in life, whether you're already on the path to achieving them or haven't started yet. And no, this has nothing to do with NYE. Any day is good enough to assess, evaluate, and review who you are, who you want to become, and what you're doing about it. Literally, any day. Trust me. So... Have you written them down already? Okay, you can just hold them in your thoughts. I know, these days is way too much of an effort to pick up some pen and paper, for most people. No judgment. Just hold your intentions in your mind.

For the next step, please invest a few more minutes, if you're keen, in designing a couple of actions you could perform daily to bring you closer to the realization of your objectives. I could give you examples, but I think it's really up to you to come up with something. Grind those gears harder, c'mon! I believe in you. Giving you some more time to think... Okay, you must have something, I hope. Now, you have a spark of order from which you can create. How to give life to it?

Well, embrace chaos, but don't let it drown you. Accept the possibility that every single day is unique. Anything can happen, literally anything, at any moment, and we must adapt to that. It's that chaos that allows DNA to mutate, which in turn spins the wheel of evolution. We humans don't notice it, don't even give it a thought, but we are being naturally selected with each move we make. The evolutionary pressures are always there, coming from every side; diseases, natural disasters, society itself, and so forth. It's what you decide to do with your precious time on earth, and with the resources that you already have, that will define the course of your future. We must stop waiting for things to just happen to us. They won't unless we start moving.

I'll end this little reflection with another quote, which could mean the same but phrased differently. Backwards, even. Or is it forwards?
 

"Out of chaos comes order" — Friedrich Nietzsche _{(attributed to)}

 
^{Actually, the closest phrase that can be found in his work would be "One must have chaos within oneself to give birth to a dancing star", which is way more complex but far more beautiful. As are almost all things under the Sun.}

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^{I'd like to thank you for reading this. I hope my words resonated with you in some way. If they did, or even if they didn't, I'd like to further connect with you, so I invite you to drop a comment and I'll answer it as soon as I can.}

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^{Source of the image:
📷 by Daniele Levis Pelusi}