The Curious Convergence of Chaos and Creativity.

Mazzy Adams

The human brain is amazing; intricate elements function as purposed, follow patterns and procedures ordered by nature and nurture, send signals that keep our bodies alive, absorb new information, drive the development of new skills, and power creative endeavours.

Pixabay Image by Charles Thonney

With time, patience, practice, and persistence, our brains can establish alternative neural pathways when existing ones are damaged or adjust to ongoing disfunction; something I’ve experienced.

My persistent brain glitch limits sensation in my left leg, and hinders my immediate short-term recall, a challenge when up-skilling in the age of video tutorials. My work-around of printed instructions and scribbled notes quickly clutters my desk.

While I focused on the final onslaught of Indie Publishing Licence to Die, the hotchpotch of folders, images, and documents filling my computer’s ‘desktop’ screen mirrored the paper jungle overtaking my desk. 

Despite that, with focussed persistence, (and a willingness to read or listen to the same instruction six or sixteen times if necessary) the final product emerged FROM CHAOS, complete, published, and ready for the reading world. 

Did I have to work hard to make it happen? Yes. Was it difficult or challenging? Frequently. Did it bring me joy? Yes (between the tears and the teeth-grinding). Will I keep writing, keep producing chaotic first drafts, edit them, submit them to scrutiny, edit them again, typeset them, design covers and promotional material, and fulfil the million-and-one other requirements for bringing a new book into the world? While God directs and guides me to do so, yes.

Why? Because I was created to fulfil my God-given purpose which, at this time, includes writing and publishing.

If you’re reading this blog, it’s extremely likely you share a similar God-given purpose. (And that’s exciting!)  

Pixabay Image by Arek Socha

Referencing Genesis 1:2 and 2:15, Author, Tim Challies, expounds two important principles in his blog, The High Calling of Bringing Order from Chaos. He explains, “God knows all about order and chaos … As God began to move in his week of creation, he brought order from … disorder. He organized, he formed, he made, he filled. From that unformed substance emerged the beauty, the order, of this world. But it emerged only by his effort, his will, his handiwork.” Challies also says, ‘bringing order from chaos is dignified … God-assigned work.’

(As an aside, if you’d like to explore the alternative translation of Genesis 1:2 which renders the Hebrew words,  tohu v’vohu (formless and void) as ‘uninhabitable chaos and emptiness’, I believe you’ll be blessed and encouraged, as I was, by Sarah E. Fisher’s inspiring lesson at hebrewwordlessons.com)

We are indeed privileged to engage in God-authored (and anchored) activity that begets order and productivity, to reflect our Creator’s image by functioning as He intended we should from the beginning.

Back to that word, ‘chaos’.

When God spoke, chaos conformed to His will. Not so, my messy desk and desktop! Licence to Die may have emerged from that developing chaos, but when it came to drafting this blog post, my inbuilt chaos meter had become overloaded and off the scale. My grey matter may not have been scattered willy-nilly across the jumbled universe of notes, instruction sheets, reminders, works-in-progress, bills-to-pay, records to … record, and other items directing my to-do list, but my free flow of fresh ideas was tangled up and stuck in that inglorious mess. It was time to clear the decks! Re-establish order from chaos! Make way for new creative endeavours.

My efforts left me with an improved desktop presentation ...

(I said improved, not perfect!)

and two ordered stacks of paper; this one awaits a second level sort. I'll recycle the other pile for new notes and reminders. 

Controlled Chaos: MazArt by Catie J

The act of tidying the desk helped tidy my mind too, triggering these thoughts about the relationship between chaos and creativity. I looked up the dictionary definition of ‘chaos’ and got creative with it. Here’s the result:

Chaotic Chaos: MazArt by Catie J

If you enjoy solving puzzles, feel free to decipher (order) the definition of chaos from the word jumble I created. (Or you could just read it for yourself on Dictionary.com)

Either way, it’s good to recognise, and acknowledge daily, the relationship God established between chaos and creativity:

• When God spoke, formless chaos conformed to His creative will, unleashing life.
• When Adam rebelled, chaos regained its foothold, unleashing death and destruction.
• When Jesus obeyed, surrendering His own will to God, He defeated and disarmed chaos and death.
• When Jesus returns, we’ll see the full manifestation of His magnificent restoration of God’s perfect creation. 

Till then, may we each continue, day by day, in our calling to ‘tidy’ the corner where we are, creatively partnering with God to produce and maintain order and fruitfulness that blesses the world we live in. 

Have you experienced a productive or unexpected result when chaos and creativity converge? Perhaps you could tell us about it in the comments.

Mazzy Adams ~ Author ~ Genre Rebel

Intrigue and Inspiration with an Upmarket Down Under Vibe.

A published author of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction with a passion for words, pictures, and the positive potential in people, Mazzy's debut thriller, Licence to Die (GRUnGE.001) has just been released. 

Discover more about Mazzy at https://mazzyadams.com/

Scripture version referenced via BibleHub.Com links are from The Peshitta Holy Bible Translated by Glenn David Bauscher Lulu Publishing Copyright © 2018 3rd edition Copyright © 2019