Chaos in the Studio of the Divine Artist
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)
These words seem to appropriately describe our current time in history.
For some it is the best of times.
For others it is the worst.
For many we can find both the best and the worst.
Heated disagreements occur even in the higher echelons of brilliant minds about what is wise and what is foolish.
Fear has been sown into our hearts by the media. It takes awareness and work to pull it out before it can take root.
Life feels uncertain, and the future is unclear.
Some predict the best scenarios; others predict the worst. Some are acting out in hate, but many are acting out in love.
People are confused, hurt, and angry. They are hopeful and loving – sometimes all within the span of 5 minutes.
It is chaos.
I feel the energy of it in my core.
Do you?
I am guessing that for many of you this is not the first time you have endured chaos. If you have lived any number of years, you have endured and survived seasons or maybe even a lifetime of chaos. And I’m not talking about the chaos of an active household living life. I’m talking about the kind of chaos that reaches in and squeezes the energy right out of your heart and soul.
What might that chaos look like for you?
In art and writing, chaos is represented by a lack of order or by emptiness, a void.
Have you felt the emptiness?
Have you experienced lack of order?
This emptiness or lack of order can be in your home, your workplace, your health, your relationships or in your inner being – your heart, your soul, your mind.
Do you feel it now?
Can you remember times of your life when you did?
I have, many times.
Whenever life sends heartache, hurt, pain and just seems to be spinning out of control, I have three words that speak life and bring hope to my heart.
In the beginning.
My heart automatically fills in the next word.
In the beginning, God.
These are the first words found in the Bible, the book of Genesis where the story of creation is told.
To me, one of the most beautiful things is that the setting for the creation story is chaos. There was emptiness, void, it was without form, without order.
I love this Hebrew phrase, which is tohu va-vohu. Above the chaos, the spirit of God was moving. It wasn’t just a roaming around type of moving. It was preparation and a powerful building of energy type of moving.
I was once told by a Hebrew scholar that the word used to describe this movement also describes the building of energy as a bird starts to flap its wings just before it flies. Flap. Flap. Flap. Faster and faster until the bird is soaring into the sky.
I can imagine the Divine Artist with his art studio filled with all the supplies he needs to create. His studio is filled with chaos.
Nothingness. Void. Lack of order.
Then…Spirit moves with all power and energy.
As energy builds, chaos changes.
It’s new.
It’s beautiful.
Do you see it?
Sunshine, water, flowers, fish, birds, animals, people.
It is good.
It is very good.
I am drawn into this scene as my heart feels the chaos of today.
My heart opens wide and says, “Look at me, I am chaos.”
Here is my emptiness. Here is my loss of purpose and control. Here are all my broken pieces.
Look, here is also my fullness and joy, along with hurt, pain, love, uncertainty, anger, peace, frustration, clarity, and confusion.
God, you get my nothing and my everything.
In this moment I feel some excitement.
I sense the energy like that of beating wings—a bird getting ready to fly.
In the chaos of my heart, in the chaos of my life, in the chaos of this world I invite the Divine Artist to create.
And in return my heart hears a soft whisper, an invitation to join him—to co-create.
To make something beautiful.
Something good.
Something very good.
I’m excited because creation continues, day by day, moment by moment with every breath I take.
In the beginning…there was chaos.
In the beginning…God.
What an amazing space for the birth of something new.
As we co-create, may it be very good.
"All Great changes are preceded by chaos"
Deepok Chopra
