When I studied physics, Entropy was the law of disorder. Basically, when you leave things alone, they fall into disarray, disorder and eventually chaos. Without energy to maintain order, entropy ensues. So, it seems like a losing battle. If order requires constant energy….who has that? If you dawdle for a brief moment, things start to slide.
Well, apparently, entropy is poorly understood. Now the physicists believe that there is another layer under the disorder. That entropy “settles” into a better state of balance. So…….humans are the problem! As we have aggregated into civilizations, we have tried to manipulate our environments, control others and organize things. In doing that, we altered the balance of Nature.
Well, how do I live au natural? I want to find the place where choas devolves into entropy and then finally settles into a balanced stillpoint. Is it even possible?
Letting go, saving energy is the more rational choice. I usually try to convince myself that I will feel better if the rooms are clean and the house is orderly. Except, it consumes so much energy. When you have an abundance of energy, you don’t notice it.
Entropy is not ambivalence, either. There is grace and beauty in entropy. If we can just stay out of the way, the natural course settles into a rhythm. We need to see divinity in the common. It surrounds us. The grain in the wood of my desk top. The spiral of a conch shell. The shadow cast by my son and I as we walk side by side. These are all things we can’t control. We rush right past them and see nothing. Entropy fells the tree trunk across the road, slowing us down. All the obstacles in our path are divine attempts to get us to SLOW DOWN. So often we quickly pick up the chain saw and start hacking away at the tree. We miss the message so plainly before us to STOP.
The is value in adveristy. There is reward in obstruction. I think of them as “self-corrective” maneuvers. If we are paying attention and able to properly assess our circumstances, the obstacles present new options to go “OFF ROAD” in a way we had never considered. It is a far more interesting proposition in many ways.
I just need a four-wheel drive…….