Finding Order in Chaos - Part 1

Today, I want to talk more about two aspects of everyday life that I am now understanding better as I reflect on my experience. These are change on the one hand, and difference on the other. Now you may wonder why I entitled this post “Finding Order in Chaos”. After all, we tend to perceive order and chaos as being opposites. But, if you think about it, the concept of “order” is dependent on what we conceive as being unstable or, in some way, not meeting our expectations of how things should be. However, isn’t our idea of “order” based on a pre-conceived idea of a reality that simply doesn’t exist in the real world. Indeed, if you are at all familiar with quantum mechanics, you’ve probably heard that matter smaller than the atom can exist at two places at once. In other words, it can be said that from the chaotic nature of subatomic particles, a complex order emerges. Examples of this order include complex chemical and living organisms. While these complex systems appear orderly, their foundations remain chaotic.

By now, you may be asking:

• How is this related to change?

• What about difference?

I don’t pretend to have the answers. I only have an idea that I is based on experience and reflection. To continue with the themes of this post, my idea may change with time and, in fact, I may be arguing in a different way as I grow older. But back to our argument.

Let me tackle the first question. How is change related to what I said in relation to order and chaos? Well, change reminds many people of chaos. Believe me, I can talk about how changes in your life can wreak havoc in your daily affairs. I can think of three major changes in my life that affected - or should I say “affect” - me to this day.

The first was probably when I realized that my physical impairment meant various things to different people. Not only did I was forced to rethink how I looked at myself but I also attempted to hide my difference. The second time was when I was admitted to hospital about 12 years ago with serious bleeding. If I hadn’t received treatment on that fateful summer’s day, I would not be writing this today. Ok, I just wouldn’t. The third experience was when I developed cataracts in both eyes making me legally blind for at least four years. Even if I have been operated on both eyes, I lost one eye and I still have low vision in my right eye.

Continues...