the beauty of chaos

Chaos is completely responsible for this post. I am writing while I sit in my dark, 53 degrees, powerless, house.

While outside there are more tress on the ground, or suspended by wires than upright. My neighborhood smells like a Christmas tree farm due to the amount of pine branches swirling through the air. And the rain is like about to come ripping through our screens.

The phones are dead, the laptops are at 17%, the food is going bad, the showers are cold, and the coffee is being made old school. The streets are flooded, the groceries stores only take cash, the gas stations are running out of fuel, and the firewood you put away months ago has sky rocketed in value.

Now, if you aren’t in the eastern mass area, or near the coast you probably think this ridiculous. But I can assure you that while I was walking in an apocalyptic Stop and Shop, I know this storm caused a state of chaos.

Storms with 82 mph fuels chaos. Trees snapping 50 feet up fuels chaos. The highest tide since 1978 fuels chaos. Lack of entertainment for a nine year fuels chaos. No wifi for a seventeen year old fuels chaos. And neighbors with no caffeine in their veins fuels chaos.

While I enter the 47th hour of no power, I think about what fuels chaos in my life.

The list is so incredibly long ha. From having no summer job lined up nor do I have any idea what I want to do for actual job. To slowly running out of contacts and conditioner.  And not being able to see and the mane not being tamed is like the definition of chaos.

But when I was growing up, I lived in a house constantly in a state of chaos. Soccer cleats and homework sheets flew around like feathers out of a pillow case.  Our pool was filled with noodles, floats and way to many kids. And our winters consisted of insane sledding shenanigans with way too many kids.  So to summarize my house was not clean, by any means, but it was our own beautiful mess.

And my mom always said, looking at the dining room table covered with polly pockets, crayons and legal pads, “I thrive in the chaos, I thrive in the messiness.” And I never realized how true that statement.

From messy dinning room tables, messy Saturday nights, messy to-do lists, and messy minds, as humans we are constantly in states of chaos. But this state of chaos is what makes us human. The chaos both builds and challenges our character.

For the chaos is daunting. The chaos is unknown and exciting.

The chaos allows us to feel incredibly alive.

So take a deep breath of the chaos. Take it all in. Embrace the chaos and let it empower you.

I hope you can look outside during the next debilitating storm and see the essence of the chaos. Standing with the wind and the rain truly is an empowering experience.

Be one with the chaos.

sincerely,

emma