CHAOS, FRACTALS AND POSSIBILITIES…
At this time, there are at least three ways to interpret what is going on: (1) The world is spinning out of control and falling apart. (2) The resurgence of nationalism signals the power of the common folk coming to center stage to reclaim and protect their own. (3) We are experiencing the social political, economic, and psychological realities of chaos theory. These three points of view share a certain plausibility.
As people experience their world seeming to be spinning out of control and a sense of their own powerlessness, and daily doses in the news of on-going and increasing craziness in acts of violence, terrorist and otherwise, nothing seems stable. It feels uncertain, and that infuses a sense of anxiety in individuals and the systems in which we live. Wanton destruction seems to lurk everywhere, taking many forms. Our vulnerability is clear in the worlds of cyber technology and the act of hacking and terrorism. It is scary stuff that promotes and sustains fear and anxiety. We are not able to function well – our creativity, thoughtfulness, and capacity to respond are compromised.
The surge of nationalism around the word, and its notable rejection in both France and The Netherlands, and its effects in the United Kingdom and the United States is a serious matter. Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Nationalism is a form of social regression, a hyper-version of “charity begins at home,” constricting the heart, soul, and mind of a country. This from of national identity foments the need to separate and isolate a people less they and their culture become tainted by “foreign” elements. It always carries an explicit judgment that all that is not “us” is at best suspect. At worst, it is evil, destructive, an enemy to be warded off, if not conquered outright. We build walls of all kinds: economic, political, social, emotional, and physical at both the person and social levels. A crushing defensiveness permeates the society.
Co-operation and collaboration among people, states, cities and counties, and nations is thwarted by a destructive protectionism. We live in the false world of silos, forgetting that what one part of the system, national or global, does or does not do, affects all parts of the system. We forget that at every level, the world today is deeply interconnected and those connections will not go away. To think that we are not a part of a larger, complex world system at virtually every level, is simply an illusion. To live as if living in personal, social, economic, or national silos is the reality is to do so both at our own peril, and that of the whole world.
While both of these viewpoint syphon off our energy in negative emotions and actions. We get stuck in our reactions to the moment. We are not able to do the necessary and desired thoughtful, creative work that addresses the issues and challenges before us or that opens up possibilities for solutions and moving forward.
Here is where I find that fractals provide us with an image of possibility, an image of hope, and a renewal of our capacity for thoughtful, creative work that builds into the future. Chaos theory teaches us that “chaos” is a natural part of the universal cycle of life. Chaos is not a total absence of order. It is true that there is a profound lack of organization or order, but, and this is very important, chaos imaged in fractals, is a moment of huge possibility for the future. Out of this chaos emerges the new order. Within the “chaos” is everything we need to create the future and move forward as we see in the life of fractals. A fractal is a thing of beauty and wonder that calls to us to engage the fractal in its extremely primitive order in the process of rediscovering the dots and connecting them in new and different ways.
When my son was young, he and his best friend loved Legos. Happiness was a trip to Toy-R-Us to purchase the newest Lego toy. When they returned home, each emptied their large tub of Legos all around them. Facing each other in what appeared to be complete chaos, they assembled the new toy (usually 3 – 5 minutes…). Then began the really fun part: seeing what they could create, using the new toy as a basis. They reached into their mass of Legos, asked each other for various parts, and always seemed effortlessly to find what they wanted. Out of the “chaos” came two very different and wonderful creations.
Their process was characterized by confidence, wonder, willingness, exploration, humor, collaboration, trust, and creativity. There was never any doubt that in the midst of the chaos something wonderful was going to happen, and they pursued the opportunity with delight. Their question was always, “What can we make this time?”
We are, I think, living in a fractal moment. God’s grace, God’s gift to us, is precisely the possibility of this moment. What are we to do? First, we make the commitment to live in the midst of this moment and to the creative process to which we are called equipped. Secondly, the question for us as Christians is, “How can we best serve God’s beloved? Third, having discerned the needful thing, “How are we going to make that happen?” How do we take the Legos and put them together in new ways? And out of the wonder and beauty of this fractal moment, the Spirit will lead us to create the new thing, the new order that will support, sustain, and enliven our living forward into the future. It will be good. It will probably be a complete and bodacious surprise.
The Right Reverend William O. Gregg, Ph.D.
VI Bishop of Eastern Oregon, resigned