I'm reading an interesting book entitled "Seven Life Lessons of Chaos". You may remember the "chaos theory", originally used to understand the movements that create thunderstorms, raging rivers, and hurricanes. You know, a butterfly's wings flapping in China affects something in the U.S.....
This book deals with how chaos is evolving from a scientific theory into a cultural metaphor.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move from her front row bus seat, an act of defiance that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. This simple action had far reaching implications, certainly not realized by Ms. Parks or society at that time.
I watched another example of this "chaos" domino effect on 60 Minutes last night. This young Tunisian fruit vendor was so upset that his scales were taken from him by a government official, that he set himself on fire in protest. That set off a chain reaction of public outrage, so much, that the government was overthrown. Then came Egypt, now Libya and others.
You see, one small "insignificant" act can trigger incredible results. It happens all the time, in every possible situation. The predicament of all life is uncertainty. Chaotic systems, such as nature, society, even individual lives, lie beyond all our attempts to predict, manipulate, and control them.
Instead, we should embrace chaos in daily life! I love this! The book says:
1. Be creative
2. Use butterfly power (how to let chaos grow local efforts into global results--Middle East, Wisconsin, etc.)
3. Go with the flow (use chaos to work collectively with others.)
4. Explore
5. See the art of the world (how to appreciate the beauty of life's chaos)
6. Live within time (utilizing time's hidden depth)
7. Rejoin the whole (connectedness)
Like it or not, "life IS chaos"! And that's a very exciting thing. Or so the book says. I'm not so sure about that! Still, an inspiring book (published in 1999).