Turmoil/Chaos and Constants

 In periods when turmoil and chaos appear dominant, pervasive, deeply ingrained, and insurmountable, the inadequacy and/or invalidity of existing frameworks and explanations to make sense of what is being experienced can plunge a person into a profound sense of helplessness, varying from individual to individual.

The reflections of this helplessness on an individual may manifest, at the simplest level, as apathy or desensitization, or more deeply as confusion, disorientation, self-questioning, and self-doubt; one may feel themselves drifting toward a point where the values they believed to be a part of their identity no longer hold any meaning.

Fundamentally, the human being is a creature of relationship. No matter how much one desires to view oneself as a distinct and independent entity from their own species, they are affected by the turmoil and drift of mankind far more than they think—and often entirely unawares—in a profoundly deep manner.

The visible, dominant, and crushing characteristic of this era, which strains humanity in ways that grow increasingly burdensome in many aspects, is chaos and turmoil. I do not believe that the effort to analyze the specific causes of these periods of turmoil and chaos serves any function or meaning other than contributing to this very confusion. The words "turmoil" and/or "chaos" that I have chosen for characterization already imply an analysis in themselves.

The most reliable and powerful method at our disposal to make sense of the era of turmoil/chaos we are passing through is to identify and put forward the constants belonging to human beings and, in a broader context, to existence—constants that will fully encompass the turmoil and chaos we experience within this era and define its boundaries with sharp lines.

Let us evaluate this era of turmoil and chaos—which is created, nurtured, abetted, enslaved, designed, fabricated, and collectively inhabited by individuals and entities whose claims are grander than themselves—and its capacity for domination over humans, according to the boundaries and constants of existence, without the need for internal analysis.

First, a little coffee and a break