Taming Chaos

Hello Universe 178

Tuesday, 27th August 2024, 01:00 AM IST -

As I write this post, I'm putting together an event to celebrate a happy occasion with my family. Said event has been a long time in the making, and it holds a lot of meaning. But along with the excitement, there's trepidation and anxiety, as my father, mother, niece, and I are all down with viral fever, while my city is overwhelmed by rains and all the streets are dangerously water-logged.

When this post hits your inbox at 07:00 PM IST, I should be in the middle of this event. Hopefully stronger, happier, and full of joy. Surrounded by the people I love and adore.

Dealing with obstacles when trying to accomplish something meaningful puts one in a philosophical state of mind. For me, it took my thoughts to the dichotomy of entropy and harmony.

The universe, according to the second law of thermodynamics, is always going to have steady or increasing entropy. It will inevitably become more chaotic as time goes on.

On the other hand, there's life - a symbol of order and harmony. A tree rises from the ground and creates an ordered system to attract water in form of rain to its surroundings, and then sucks that water up against gravitational forces to nurture its body and grow large. It creates seeds which will eventually become more trees. A human being puts together other human beings and builds technology, medicines, and monuments - all through the power of ideas and imagination.

Over time, life adapts, harmonizes, gets destroyed, finds a way back - eventually, it sustains.

The nature of the universe is entropy and chaos. The spirit of the universe is life and order.

As I sit here today, writing this post to you, I can't help but feel stung by the chaos of illness and natural disaster. But within me lies the universal spirit, the torch of life. And that spirit tells me -

“It's ok. You can tame this chaos. You are alive.”

That’s what today’s poem is about.

Alright, poem starts in 3... 2... 1!

---

I wandered through a realm of strife,
where entropy seemed set in stone.
When lo! I spied a spark of life,
a seed of order had been sown.

From barren soil it dared to rise,
its roots embraced the lifeless ground.
It stretched its arms towards the skies,
and whispered with a voice profound:

"I am the spirit of this realm,
against its nature I ascend.
And even if I am condemned,
I will not yield, I will not bend."

And so, I closed my eyes and thought:
'Some things may work and some may not.
There may be chaos and decay,
but life will always find a way.'

Yes life will always find a way,
and everything will be okay.
For joy is intertwined with strife,
and that is just the way of life.

---

That’s it! Thanks for reading edition no. 178 of Hello Universe.

There’s no Some Fun Stuff today. I’ll see you next Tuesday!