Chaos, if someone would ask me to come up with a single word that could summarize our entire year, that word would be chaos. For a lot of reasons, I don’t think that we are alone. Were you consumed by events that made you feel like you are not in control of your life? Did you have to navigate through extended periods of confusion and conflicting messages with no clear right or wrong answers? Congratulations, you are now a member of a non-exclusive club. So now what?

Chaos and Order

These are two commonly used words that are known to create an excessive amount of anxiety. For some, even a short period experiencing chaos is unspeakable, unthinkable and unsurvivable and we are to avoid it at all costs. For others, order is too stifling and restrictive for your tastes as you prefer to run loose and free. Even though chaos and order are at opposite ends of the spectrum, both have the same outcome, a life filled with tension and anxiety. If free from stress is your idea of utopia, neither a life consumed with the need for order nor one in a constant state of chaos is for you.

Harmony

Back in September, as a birthday gift from my family, I was given two tickets to attend a concert by Trans Siberian Orchestra. This week, I was able to enjoy that gift. For the past several years, my Christmas season starts when I feel the need to listen to traditional Christmas carols loudly. Imagine for a moment, colored lights flashing and hundreds of lasers flickering numerous times every second across a sold-out arena. While the lighting effects engulf your visual senses, an orchestra tee’s up Hark the Herald Angels Sing and vocalists are delivering the message of Christmas with the intensity of a passionate college football fan during the closing minutes of a close game.

If this is your first experience with a TSO concert, you might mistake all of the commotions for chaos, but that is not the case. In fact, is quite the opposite. The performers draw the audience into a story that we can all relate to; the story of a girl that is away from her family because of her personal choices who wants something we all want, order and structure that makes us feel safe to replace the chaos that makes us feel lost and alone.

Tension Anyone

The absence of chaos does not equate to a life that will be free from tension and uncertainty. It could be the calm before the storm; a precursor to a transformation more incredible than you could imagine. The unexpected and unwanted arrival of chaos may just be the beginning of something much more significant that will challenge your world and mess with everything you hold to be true. Chances are, when you emerge on the other side, what you value has changed, how you decide you will invest time and talents will change; you will change.

Of these two statements, select which one is more likely to happen:

[ ] A twister will pass through a bone-yard and out of the wreckage, a shining new fully functioning Boeing 757 will magically appear.

 – or –

[ ] Something that educates, empowers and embodies beauty and worth will come out of the chaos I am presently experiencing in my life.

Consider this; the chaos that we are about to experience, or are experiencing, is the beginning a beautiful story of redemption and healing. Maybe we are too invested in, or holding on too tightly to, a past that needs to be put behind us once and for all so that we can experience a future that is worthy of our time and talents. We admit to ourselves that something has to change; but when left to our devices, we opt for a life of order, structure, and security. The only way we will step up to the plate and leave our comfort zone is if it is violently ripped away and taken away by the winds of change. Now there is a Christmas message that you didn’t expect.

Living in the Moment

Recently I have come to accept that our lives need both chaos and order. The periods of chaos force us to put our phones away, turn off Facebook or Medium,  to test everything that we believe and validate that it is still true. The periods of times characterized by order are necessary for us to catch our breath and enjoy the company of those that matter the most. It is during these times of calm that we can bask in the knowledge that we are stronger than we think we are. It’s also our time to give thanks for the family and friends that stand beside us when we are in the eye of the vortex, and we are doing all we can to hang on for dear life. Deep down, we know that time will come once again.

There are some that would argue that I have a way of looking for chaos and that I enjoy it, and when it’s absent, I do my part creating it. There may be some truth to that, but for now, I am sticking with my what I have said all along; I’m just an average Joe who likes an occasional beer that thrives in an ambiguous environment. Everything else is merely a coincidence and a figment of your wild imagination.

Thank for reading, liking, and sharing,

Yes, Ivy, mustard and pickle relish are condiments, why do you ask?

Al and his faithful, but slightly embarrassed sidekick, Ivy the wonder pup.

It’s great to be back. Thanks for keeping the light on and your front door unlocked.