Keeping Your Sanity #2

Resilience in a Time of Chaos

In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order. - Carl Jung

I was born with a strong sense that life was profound and mysterious. I had an intense desire to connect with something beyond my reach - something on the periphery of my consciousness. Once I learned how to read, I spent hours poring over my family's leather-bound fairy tales, mythology, classical novels and the King James version of the Bible searching for clues and revelations about the meaning of life. This pursuit remains today.
 
I was also born knowing something else. I have always understood that life as we know it will unravel in my lifetime though I knew not what it would look like. What surprised me as the decades unfolded was, despite enormous changes, the fundamentals of the system remained essentially the same. In other words, our structural certainties held firm despite facing massive challenges such as climate change and accelerating inequality.
 
Now, a few months into 2025, we are engulfed in chaos. We can’t recognize life as usual and trust evaporates like snow in the sun. We feel increasingly less safe in every way, from the air we breathe to the water we drink. Lies and illegality have become normalized. The irony is those who work tirelessly to undermine our trust are now systematically tearing down our institutions and demanding we trust them. This is gaslighting at its most deadly, the definition of manipulation and insanity.
 
Many are asking, what does it all mean? As I mentioned in my article "Keeping Your Sanity: Today's Dilemma," this is a spiritual reckoning and politics is the symptom not the cause. Let's step back and seet how we arrived here.
 
The capitalist ethos encourages us to be dissatisfied with what we have and what we do. We are programmed to compete, to accumulate more. It is regarded admirable if we destroy others in the process. Enough is never enough.

It's no wonder we have a mental health crisis. In 2024 the US dispensed over two hundred and twenty-one million antidepressant prescriptions. We are programmed to be dissatisfied and self-serving. Just think about that: we are programmed to be dissatisfied and self-serving. How could this end well?
 
We are conditioned to believe that we are never enough and that answers for our frailties could be found outside ourselves. This sense of powerlessness leaves us vulnerable to false promises of quick salvation and to the worship of neon gods.
 
Today the veil is lifting. The direct consequence of the vacuous dark side of self-serving greed struts unashamedly in plain sight. I witness worldwide that many increasingly question the notion of a life driven solely by the accumulation of possessions at the expense of others.
 
Truth manifests and these times are no exception. Manufactured borders and boundaries mean nothing to the impartial mathematical laws of the universe. The sun doesn't choose upon whom to shine. No bully bluster or the construction of physical structures alter the fact that working for mutual benefit together strengthens us; unnecessary discord leaves us weak. 
 
Here's the good news, chaos is a catalyst for change and always presents an opportunity. With the acceleration of chaotic events there's no time for complacency; what change will happen is entirely in our hands. The choice is yours. You either give up or step up. 
 
The key is resilience. The more resilient we are as individuals, the stronger and more effective we are collectively. It’s easy to feel despair now. Here are ways to strengthen your capacity to weather the chaos as we work together to resist the madness.
 
Determine your responsibilities and those not yours. Identify what you can control and what you need to release. You have numerous options. You can contribute to the chaos or play a crucial role in the solution with each choice. This is a reminder of your power.
 
It may be cliché, but there's truth in the saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone." When things taken for granted for decades are swept away or threatened, their value suddenly skyrockets. Take time to reevaluate your values. What do you value most? What are your priorities today? I would guess things look differently than they did a few months ago. Use this revised list to advocate, serve and strengthen your resolve.
 
Most importantly, find your peace in the chaos. There is no going back. The obstacle is the only way forward. You are not alone. Millions around the globe are embracing the turmoil, coming together and taking collective action. Take comfort in the wisdom of the Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung, who said, <“i>In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.”

This is the golden opportunity to affect desperately needed change, to create a just and peaceful world for everyone.