Magic
We live in a world without wings.
As human beings we have this innate urge to measure, analyse, understand and ultimately control everything. Everything needs to be defined and predetermined (read policies), labelled and boxed.
I often wonder if this is driven by a natural curiosity, or simply a deep insecurity. Predictability makes us feel safe. The more we can control, the more order we can create (read risk management and compliance), the safer we feel. But this is a bit fake, don’t you think?
Life is unpredictable (read shit happens).
Imagine meeting a genie who gives you the power to, from today, fully control and predict every day of your life for the rest of your life. Will you take it?
We desire order, but the new, the better, the fun and the glory is born from chaos. Magic comes from chaos.
If all the answers are known, potential is zero. Precise and rigid are the enemies of potential. Ambiguity is good. Mystery is magic.
At Gondwana our world is utter chaos at the moment, and somehow we have never had more options than now. The fact that we do not know, that we cannot control, makes all options viable. We think and dream and differ and create a future which is yet to reveal itself, yet it feels as if, by doing this, we are making sure that life does not merely happen to us, but for us. We dabble in our fears, and it is okay.
To use an analogy, I find the amount of research and effort that has been put into exploring how the the fairy circles in the Namib Desert came about, so fascinating (hint, maybe it is in the name?).
Our indigenous people who called it fairy circles might have been onto something. But no, that is crazy talk- let us solve this “problem”, let us analyse, define and limit it to fit the human brain. That is so sad. The capacity of the human soul is a thousand times more than the human brain. Our brains are order, our hearts and souls however, thrive on chaos.
In our dreams, in our fairy tales- those beautiful circles were created by fairies, who only come out at night when there are no human eyes to limit them, and if you have ever been in the desert in the very early mornings, you can still feel their presence lingering. It is magical.
This global pandemic is creating fairy circles in our world. Will we again use it to try and control life (read more policies), or will we embrace the chaos, the potential and maybe even the magic?
Life will happen again in the future, and again it will be unpredictable, and it is okay. But by clipping the wings of chaos, we are actively chasing away the magic. Let it be, set it free.
I am so humbled to be part of a team where every day involves us embracing these possibilities and where we try to create this world, to be shared with you all:
A world full of possibilities and beautiful magic.
Gys
Gys, I enjoyed this piece, especially in light of your previous one. BUT, I must express certain reservations. Chaos, mystery, curiosity, it undoubtedly has its place in our world: to spark creativity and innovation, to get our gears going and to give direction to our never-ending search. Without wonder, there would be nothing to awe at, nothing to make us feel that we live in a marvelously intriguing world. But, we can't leave all chaos unchecked. We can't sit back and let mystery swirl around us and the winds of change blow our lives around without any purposeful direction. We have to plan, we need strategies, me must try to subdue chaos to a degree. Without planning and policies, we would be completely subject to the whims of nature, an almost futile affair. We must accept certain unmanageable, mysterious, almost magic facts of life, sit back, appreciate them, but also learn from them, and, in so doing, how to use that knowledge to improve all our lives and our relationship with nature, over which we are custodians. Just because we want to learn from something mysterious, doesn't mean we want to box it up. It means we want to reach a point of full appreciation of that something, so that we can better understand its value.
Magic is born through disruptions. Being curios for tomorrow is power but to be insecure is knowing life is unpredictable we cant have control over the destiny but we can make it happen by showing up everyday with declarations. #the universe has offered so much its time we give back with our resilience.