CHAOS OR COMFORT
INTRODUCTION TO CHAOTIC/CREATIV
Something has changed. An illusive, invisible and unpredictable force has entered into the world. Borders, doors and hearts begin to close. Uncertainty, anxiety and scepticism rattle the cages of complacency. It seems that as the bad days progress, the good ones retreat. But life needn’t be lived this way – nor will it be - because this force that has entered the world is not a threat, but an opportunity. It is a catalyst inviting us into the next paradigm of history.
This was inevitable. After all, the only constant is change, and for a moment we became too comfortable with the idea of the steady and stable life. Nature is dictated by chaos. Yet chaos – though at times unforgiving – is ultimately the liberator. Had the comet not wiped out the dinosaur, the shrew would not have had the freedom to flourish. Had the canopies of the jungle not caught flame, the ape would not have been driven to forage on the grasslands. Had neither of those events happened, neither would we.
Comfort, on the other hand, breeds laziness. It is the slowest antelope that the lion latches onto. It is the asexual panda that ends his bloodline. It is the human mind longing for stability that crumbles into madness.
To dismiss comfort in the face of chaos seems counter-intuitive. Indeed, the more chaotic life becomes the more we long for shelter. But, ironically, to perpetuate comfort is to intensify chaos. Binging Netflix on the couch won’t extinguish the flames of the burning house. We can clutch onto the comfortable idea of the good old days as much as we like, but the momentum of history is now a force too strong for our grip. Yet the momentum of history, like the chaos of Nature, is precisely what will guide us every step of the way.
Without discomfort, without chaos, without any uncertainty whatsoever, there would be nothing to strive for. Food would not taste so good were we never hungry. Climbing the mountain would bear little reward knowing there was no risk of death. How utterly boring life would be were it as predictable, secure and mapped out as we have it in our minds. Nothing could be more corrosive to the human heart than a predictable outcome.
Furthermore, without the ebb and flow of chaos and our mortality within it, there would be no art. Despite all the insights of modern science and technology, art is the only phenomena sophisticated enough to liberate us existentially. Our place within Nature has always been the fundamental enquiry. It always will be. For a moment we had forgotten this. Now the flames of existentialism ignite the household, and we are called to enquire again. Only this time the enquiry is forced upon a civilisation, making it a problem not just for the artist but also for the collective. Rarely does this happen. What a truly important time to be alive!
With the ever mounting pressures and hysteria of world affairs it may seem like harvesting the artistic mind is of minuscule importance. In this series of essays I will explain why that is not the case. All solutions – past and present – are born in the imagination. Even Descartes’ conception of the scientific method first appeared to him in a dream. Furthermore they will always be in the imagination. The collective unconscious is not time-specific. The messages remain the same; interpretation is simply subject to the linguistic model that attains them, yet forever relevant throughout history.
Nor is this practice exclusive to art. It may be politics, medicine, anarchy or charity where you find your voice. Regardless of the direction, everyone will awaken to his or her specific role, and none are more empowered than those who know their purpose. This sense of purpose is a magnetic force, and once you become who you know yourself to be, others are drawn to do the same.
Therefore the task ahead of us is one of becoming. As I will explain in the following essays, we must begin to detach ourselves from the external nature of things. Most of us believe that success can only be gained by future circumstance. Yet given the circumstances we now face, such patience cannot be afforded. Furthermore, to depend on someone or something else for anything is to disempower yourself of your own potential. Success, happiness, enlightenment, empowerment – whatever you seek – are simply states of mind, not places in time. What you strive for, you can already conceive, and reconnection to it in the moment is all that is needed. By harbouring your ideal image, the world around you begins to change. After all, perception is all any of us ever has to work with anyway, therefore it is vital that you create a perception that works in your favour. But to hear this externally will mean nothing to you – it can only be understood experientially.
None of us were prepared for this catalyst into consciousness. Nor did we necessarily want it. Indifferent as I may seem, it is not my intention to undermine the misery many of us are now faced with. But to submit to the weight of fear, stress and depression will only cripple us further. Like all departures from known to unknown, separation anxiety will inevitably arise. No bird wants to be kicked from the nest. Yet no bird would fly otherwise. Transition demands courage. It won’t be easy, but, as I am here to encourage, it will be necessary.
***
The series of ongoing essays that follow will be a guide to this process of becoming. I will argue that the problems we face are not due to pandemics or politics, but to an overall lack of creative thinking and a disempowered collectivity. This has been the case for most of human history, and centuries of conditioning, control and division have done well to sweep it under the rug. But now Nature has lifted the rug from under our feet. Our institutions are failing. Old ways no longer work. New ways are yet to be born. It is up to you to conceive them.
Not all my writing will be so political and artistic in nature. There are some very simple practices in relation to mental health and well being that I have found useful during times of uncertainty and isolation. Nor will they need to be read in any particular order. They will, in some respect, be related to creativity.
I will also be including various essays I have written in the past on art and society, including excerpts from my book Drawn To Change. Imagery also helps with conveying messages, so the blogs that follow are all accompanied by my illustrations.
Although my writing may provoke and upset some readers, I do it for the sole purpose of stimulating enquiry and imagination. It is not my intention to offend anyone, only to empower them.