Some folks seem to thrive on emotional chaos. I'm not one of them. Emotional upset brings me to a standstill. I become an automaton, going through the motions, getting my work done, but nothing else. I'm not creative when I'm emotionally upset. I feel and work best when my emotions are stable and thus able to be focused on a particular task, like teaching a class or writing a story.
On the other hand, I don't subscribe to the notion that an orderly mind is always desirable, in the sense that mind represents one's ability to reason.
A friend of mine once made a comment about my cluttered desk being a sign of a cluttered mind. His own desk was a model of order, thus demonstrating his "ordered" mind. I told him, well, that's all well and good if one 'does' something with an ordered mind. If an ordered mind helps you solve real-world, or theoretical problems, then that's good. But if an ordered mind simply creates more order, that seems to be less than desirable.
In fact, I told him, the great advances in science and philosophy come out of confusion. When there is no order, the mind tries to impose order, and that's how hypotheses are formed and theories supported. How many years did Charles Darwin spend living in a state of mental confusion as he tried to sort out the problems of evolution? And yet, great order came out of that chaos. It just took a long time.
I believe I won that debate. How about you?
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Showing posts with label emotional chaos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label emotional chaos. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
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