Friday, February 12, 2010

Chaos and Order

Chaos and Order


"Chaos" - Found on the Redemption Boulder, Wawa, Montalban

We cannot deny that the world thrives on chaos.  No matter how much we try to resolve or fix something so chaotic, such as our drawers, bookcases, or work tables,  just like all of life’s inherent obscurities, everything always reverts back  to  chaos even after so gingerly applying a thick layer of order.  Yet, humanity always seeks order, it is as I’ve learned, a very human thing to do.  To find order within the chaos is a long sought after solution to a lifelong dilemma.   This built-in human response keeps us all moving forward, wheeling through life with a purpose.  

This whole “chaos and order” business is another infallible reason why I’m so endeared to climbing.  It aims to put into order the chaotic nature of the features on a cliff, a route or a problem.  That primal need to seek the order, the sequence on a route, quenches that human need.  This is the reality of climbing.  Once you’ve sent your problem, there is still a burning need to seek out that next harder problem to sink your insatiable need into.  Maybe this is why projects, the things so impossible for you, tastes so much better than easier, less than your own burl-level problems.  To know the sequence is one thing, to be able to handle the sequence is another.  “ Whatever it takes…”,  a passionate mantra I’m now accustomed with, to the point of letting go and then catching my fall again, has been ringing loudly in my head.  It drives me forward, sometimes mindless of several forked ourcomes.  “Whatever it takes…”, a rallying cry for the seemingly endless dance with chaos.

"Order" - lower right corner of Redemption Boulder