chaos vs. order

I’m realizing how living in harmony in any place is essentially an exercise in finding the equilibrium between chaos and order: in between the inner ecosystem of the self, and the outer ecosystem of the place.

order is everything which is controlled, organized, meticulous, tidy, contained, routine, in harmony, balanced, rationed, reasoned, structured.

chaos is everything which is impulsive, unrestrained, Dionysian, instinctive, emotion, violent, passionate, destructive

time and time again, I’ve experienced how they are two energies — like yin and yang — which form a false duality. the full expression of one depends on the other. you cannot have true freedom and spontaneity in art — without the net of creative structures to fall back on.

each person has their psychic composition of inner chaos vs. order.

each environment has its own composition of chaos vs. order.

how do the two mix?

when I was in rural Japan, the outer world I experienced was 99% order, 1% chaos. now, in the city of Napoli in the south of Italy, the outer world feels like 90% chaos, 10% order. certainly, these measurements are relative. but I feel like I’ve slid from one end of the extreme to the other, and the contrast has been violent. I still haven’t found my own equilibrium.

it occurs to me that solving this equation of chaos vs. order will solve the disturbance I feel.

how do I feel well in an environment which is this chaotic?

how can I cultivate a sense of order — which allows me to fully experience the joy of the chaos, too?

I’m working on it. will report back soon, I hope.