Embracing Chaos  - Entropy, Part 3
January 27, 2020

     It might seem that chaos is getting a bad rap here.  Let me correct that impression by saying this: chaos is not synonymous with evil.  Chaos – i.e., entropy, disorder, decay, death – is simply a background fact of the universe.  It undoubtedly entails some suffering for sentient beings, but  suffering is not synonymous with evil either.  Chaos, and perhaps suffering as well, is morally neutral.  It is the lion that kills and eats the gazelle.  It is the star that grows to a red giant and burns up the planets in its path.  

   My working definition of evil, by contrast, is this: evil is any act or omission by a human being that increases the suffering of another sentient being above the baseline, background level that would occur in the absence of such act or omission.  This provisional definition might need to be further qualified as follows: "Evil is any act or omission by a human being that, without sufficient moral justification, increases the suffering of another sentient being above the baseline, background level that would occur in the absence of such act or omission."  The definition, whether with or without the added qualifier, presents all sorts of questions and problems to explore – including the degree to which humans can unwittingly participate in evil acts – which is why I consider this a "working" or "provisional" definition only.  It is a starting place.

     But the point, for now, is that, in any case, chaos and evil are not the same thing.  Evil certainly uses chaos to its advantage, amplifying it, multiplying it.  But chaos also gives rise to things that we unquestionably recognize as good.  Chief among these things: creativity.  Creativity calls for some degree of chaos – sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the project – since an overly rigid order stifles creativity.  I could not have made homemade cinnamon rolls yesterday (an early birthday present to myself) without accepting that the process was going to involve some chaos.  Baking is messy.

     So is raising kids.  So is gardening and raising small livestock.  So is leaving a secure corporate job for an entrepreneurial venture.  

    Chaos can feel like stepping over the edge of a cliff.  It can feel like you're losing yourself, like you're dissolving into the needs of another or the demands of a dream.  It can feel threatening.  And it cannot be one's constant state of being; it absolutely must be balanced with some sense of order, direction, and purpose.  But it is not to be feared or resisted absolutely.  Embrace it for what it can make possible.

    Above my writing space in my house, I keep a card that was handmade by a dear friend.  It  features a manger with flowers spilling over its sides, captioned with a verse from the Hebrew Proverbs: "Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but by the strength of the ox comes abundant harvest." (Proverbs 14:4)  Amen.