Chaos Theory and Grief

In loving memory of my mom, Debra Jane Gunselman.

            Indeed, we are individuals as teachers, parents, spouses, children, etc., but we are also members of the communities that give us our individual identities. Let us turn to the metaphor of chaos theory, where the image of the vortex, such as a whirlpool, is used to explore the paradox of individuality.

A whirlpool is a distinct entity, yet cannot be separated from its creator, a stream or river. Briggs & Peat (1999) outline the self-organizing nature of a vortex in three components which I have elaborated upon here: 

1. Turbulence—When we are immersed in the chaos of uncertainties and use the experience to loosen the grip of egocentric consciousness.
2. Bifurcation and Amplification—A moment of truth, “Aha! Moments”, leading to new self-creating work through the alignment of previously held truth and curiosity. 
3. The Open Flow—The period in the creative process marked by total absorption in activity and little fear of failure fueled by previous immersion in chaos. 

I use the Montessori insight of freedom and discipline in the prepared environment to channel the turbulence each child experiences in relation to their unique behaviors and tendencies. This is seen in allowing children the freedom to work with any work they have been shown for as long as they like and expecting the discipline to return the work back to the shelf, ready for the next person to use. Montessori’s developmental insight of adaptation appears to echo the self-creating nature of bifurcation and amplification.

TIES has introduced me to a newer scientific term used to describe the self-creating nature of living systems, autopoiesis.

            Developed by Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, autopoiesis—literally “self-making”—occurs as self-renewing, structural changes of single components within a system and, in response, the creation of new systemic structures may arise. Fritjof Capra and Pier Luigi Luisi, scientists and systems theorists, discuss the notion of how a living system relates to its environment through recurrent interactions resulting in structural changes to the system, which is called “structural coupling” (2014, p. 135).

When facing a bifurcation point, that leads to the interaction of multiple living systems within an environment, each system’s behavior will be unpredictable, although any structural changes will be congruent with the structural flow of the environment. I have seen how my behavior has been determined, not by outside forces, but by the internal structures formed in response to my unique life experiences. Finally, I want to consider the correlations between “The Open Flow” and the insight of “Normalization”.

In a TIES dialogue, the topic of normalization surfaced between Gang and me. After I had shared the frustration I was experiencing born out of my understanding of normalization, Gang (2020) shared some of his personal insights on the subject as follows:

I encourage us to think of normalizing rather than normalization. From this perspective it is an ongoing process with perpetual shifts -chaos and stability- -chaos and stability. I also feel from my own retrospective that it is a lifelong process embraced by means rather than directed by ends. The grief you are experiencing, Wesley, is a substantial ripple in your life’s journey. It will always be in the river of your life but in time the strength of those ripples will recede. 

Then Gang left me with the following questions:

What do the children bring to the class? 

What do [the adults] bring to the class?

What do I bring to the class? What do I bring into my home? What do I bring everywhere I go? I had been holding tightly to the idea of normalization being a destination to reach rather than a journey to live. Gang’s questions brought me right back to wondering about the man in the yellow hat. What historical or cultural influences ultimately motivated him to take George from his home? How connected was he to his place of origin? What kind of relationship did he have with other members of the biotic community?

            I am left with more questions than answers at this point in the journey. It is exhausting work exploring who I am as a plain member and citizen of a cosmic community. I have not spent a great amount of time considering many of the connections I share with my environment and other members of my cosmic community and how those connections have guided me throughout my life.

            Thankfully we do not need to have all the answers to begin the work. In this moment of transition, please join me in considering the words of Indian philosopher Krishnamurti who said:

            You are conditioned and the student is conditioned; your child is conditioned and the teacher, the educator is conditioned… In the school the teacher and the student are both conditioned. For the teacher to wait until he [or she] is unconditioned, he [or          she] might just as well wait for the rest of his [or her] life. So, the question is whether he [or she] and the student in their relationship in a school can uncondition themselves? (2015, p.63)

Let us continue this journey as I explore my conditioning brought about by interactions, or lack thereof, with my external environment and the internal environment of my psyche.

Works Cited

Briggs, J., & Peat, F. D. (1999). Seven life lessons of chaos: Spiritual wisdom from the science of change. Harper Collins. 

Capra, F., & Luisi, P. L. (2014). The systems view of life: A unifying vision. Cambridge University Press.

Krishnamurti, J. (2015). Unconditioning and education. Krishnamurti Foundation of 

            America.