Order Versus Chaos

In several creation stories throughout the world, chaos is often symbolized as a dark, formless watery void. Out of this void order is created. The ancient Egyptians called the watery abyss Nun, from which the stable land arose. In Norse myth, fire and ice commingled amid the fathomless deep; and through a great turmoil, the birth of all things came to be.

It's not always easy to put things in order. In Babylonian myth, there is a great war in heaven to try and subdue the watery, chaotic Tiamat. It turns out to be very difficult to do, but in the end, the god Marduk succeeds. He divides the body of Tiamat in two, creating the earth and sky.

Marduk

In Genesis, God orders the universe out of a watery chaos. Light and dark are separated; time is set in sequence; stars, land, and sea are properly organized. Thus the tidy, the neat, the trim becomes the ideal. “A place for everything, and everything in its place,” as my mother used to say. Order soon becomes the security and safety of civilization. It’s protection against the wild man-eating animals out there in the shadowy, chaotic realms.

Yet paradoxically, as dark and foreboding as chaos can seem, we seem to have a need for it. Think confetti at a parade. Wild, messy parties. Children playing in the dirt. There’s graffiti on bridges that's  considered art. As a writer, I know there can be no story without chaos. Cracks have to appear in the perfect symmetry of things. There can be no plot without something going out of order. Or otherwise--borrrr--ing. Often in stories, it’s the order itself that’s evil, not the chaos. Think of Nazis or Darth Vader. They’re highly structured beings, but they’re the bad guys.  

In the movie V for Vendetta, the main character V could be thought of as a symbol for chaos. V is a threat to order, the totalitarian government under Adam Sutler. The movie reminds us that for a new order to establish itself, the old one must crumble, thus creating chaos.

A lot of people complain that movements of social unrest, like Occupy Wall Street, disrupt things too much. But significant change isn’t going to happen without chaos. So grab yourself a V mask, and enjoy the party.  

Beginnings

In Hindu mythology, Vac (Word) is the goddess of speech and the mother of creation. Later she evolves to become the source of all inspiration and creativity, and is associated with Saraswati, the goddess, among other things, of music and poetry. 

Goddess Saraswati

The concept of Word is found in other places as well. In Christian philosophy, the Word or Logos is what brings the whole universe into existence. The idea came from the Greeks, who may have borrowed it from the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians believed the creator god, Re, who possessed a hidden name, could speak other beings into existence. And in some versions of this myth, he is called Word.

The spoken word, and later writing, is what gave birth to stories. So the beginning of things teaches us that we're all part of some universal tale, characters living in a great cosmic play. Is it a tragedy or a comedy? I’m not sure.

But one thing I do know is that those who try to bring forth the message that we're all in this together, so maybe we should get along, don’t fare so well.

Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King wove universal love into their talks. But there are always people who hate this idea so much that they’ll kill the perpetrators of such a dangerous notion.

Martin Luther King Jr.

So the whole love and peace thing is nothing more than the recognition that we’re all part of Vac. Even if we don’t see it, it’s something we can dream about. John Lennon had a nice song years ago where he imagined it. (Oh that’s right, they shot him, too.)

Well, a story’s still a story, so let’s play our parts with pizzazz and maybe we'll get our names listed in the credits.