Some of Us More Than Others

Life has a way of sanding down our rough edges. Sometimes through people, sometimes through situations, and sometimes through both! Today I experienced all those things…not that the day was specifically chaotic, just the care I had to take in handling my emotions made it feel VERY chaotic. These words from Rakesh Jnunjhuhwala reminded me of the up side of chaos:

Growth comes from chaos not order.

– Rajesh Jnuunjhunwala 2022

When I look back at the times in my life when I learned the greatest lessons, there was usually some form of chaos. Doing something for the first time, on a tight deadline, without planning or preparing, with the wrong people or people with the wrong emotions…textbook fodder for chaos. The lessons we learned from our own stupidity, the naivety of youth, the arrogance of thinking we know more than we did. I’m sure you can think of a few close shaves where you learned a great deal. Those stories are funny now, not at all funny when it happened.

It is those times when we grew the most – surviving it, escaping due to our own dumb luck, and even still being alive by the grace of God. I’m smiling as I think about some of those lessons learned in my youth, and and grateful that I am still in one piece. I also smile as I see the youth I know today facing those same situations without any more of a clue then I had way back when. Surviving chaos is almost a rite of passage…which is another way to say growth!

Tough times make you grow up, face facts, truly understand who you are and what is important to you. Chaos makes you reflect on what you value as it can shake your world to the core. In other words, chaos may feel bad at the time and YET, it is one of the best methods there is for helping us grow up. Maybe the chaos you are experiencing (or surviving) is there to round off our rough edges and help you get to the next stage of your own development.

So what chaos are you currently navigating? What lessons are you learning, and how can you end the chaos sooner rather than later? What sharp edges do you need to smooth out in order to grow up? And how will you be changed by the end of all that mess? Great questions, some hard to swallow and face. Let me encourage you to take a deep breath and know that most chaos doesn’t last, unless we keep making bad choices. Embrace the lessons chaos has brought to your door and come out a better person on the other side…all of us need our rough edges shaved off ever now and then. Some of us more than others!