I want everything to be simple, but almost nothing is. Perhaps nothing is. It’s hard to say.
I have doubts about simplicity. Complexity rules, to the point of being confused with chaos, which is, I believe, an illusion. The concept of chaos is just a clever way of saying, “I can’t figure this out. I don’t know how this works. This is too complicated. I can’t keep track of the variables.” To which I say, “Big surprise there.”
But I get why we’re attracted to the concept of chaos. It kind of gets us off the hook. It’s a rationale for being comfortable with our limitations.
But life certainly feels like chaos a lot of the time.
People say, “I’m a simple person.” But they aren’t. They like to think they are, especially when they don’t want to deal with the complications. We want to be simple so we won’t have to expend the energy. We get too tired or too lazy or too disinterested to keep track of the calculations. Or they’re just beyond us. So we over simplify, you know, pretty much everything.
It’s a survival thing.
But complexity finds us: when morality won’t let us go, when problems rise up that we can’t solve with trite platitudes, when the doctors says, “I need you to come back in for some more tests.” When the simple answers don’t offer any solace.
Let me tell you: there’s nothing simple about life. And certainly not death or dying. Or human beings. God help us, the things we can do if we aren’t held back by something better than ourselves. The complexities of evil and the human heart are uncountable, unknowable. At least by us. Our hearts can be very dark. Caves. Black holes. Deny it all you want.
But it’s not all darkness, is it? What about love? Love is an amazing thing. But it’s not simple either. It’s very, very complicated. Too bright and pure to keep our eyes on for too long. Too complex to appreciate like we should. But, you give and take what you can and try to make it through the day. See a smile and smile back. Try to keep your cool when things get ugly around you. Look up at the stars and wonder. In awe. There is love in that sky.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made, planted on this little, green circle of soil and stone and water. A world so stunningly complex it leaves us without enough adjectives to adequately describe it. On top of that, we are conscious. We think, because we are. We are alive, floating in an immense, unfathomable universe. Space and time and matter, bound together to form all that is, yet like a grain of sand in the hand of God.
But there is a mark on the map of the universe. You are here. Breathe.
© LW Publishing 2011
:) I've been thinking recently about the Bible and the style in which it's written. It can be perceived as simple upon first reading it (or on the surface), but the more you read, the more intricate you realize it is, with hidden depths.
ReplyDeleteSome people, who don't get it, try and complicate it in order to disprove it - but all they are really doing is creating chaos out of order (I think). Piecing it apart in order to create a disorder that doesn't exist.
That's because, as human beings who believe our own hype, we often like to overcomplicate things to make ourselves feel superior in our intellect.
Interesting.
I like your pic of the leaf too. Perfect for depicting the meaning of your blog. Simple, but complicated. :)
yup very confusing
ReplyDeleteI use Webster's 3rd definition of chaos, which is "a state of utter confusion". I also use my own definition, which is, "an externally produced environment that takes me away from myself". It's the root cause of stress. It's the deafening tick of the clock. It's someone else's variables trying to plug themselves into my equation. I don't see it as a rationale for my own limitations, but more a germ to avoid because I would prefer to avoid the sickness than develop an immunity. Immunity is useless without the sickness anyway. Complex things are simple when seen from the proper perspective. An improper perspective is chaos. It should be avoided like the plague. I don't see chaos as the opposite of simplicity. I see it as the opposite of peace. And peace not as an excuse for taking comfort in limitation, but it is the result of being content with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there's the universe...
Rayleigh - yes. "And then there's the universe."
ReplyDeleteAnon - yes. "confusing"
Muzicbox - yes, i agree, like many other things, the Bible is a very good example of how often human beings, both those who trust it and those who don't, manipulate concepts of "simple," "complex," "chaos," "logic," etc. to get what they want out of it. And I do mean "what they want," to see, to believe about it, to have it endorse -- rather than what's there.