On Navigating Chaos

“Chaos is also the formless potential from which the God of Genesis 1 called forth order using language at the beginning of time.”

Jordon B. Peterson

I was curled up under my sheets.

I’d had a full day at work and was digesting a steady stream of news about the state of our world and the current crisis we’re in.

Even as I lay in bed to escape, my phone was in hand, streaming more bad news. I was getting sicker by the minute and feeling ashamed of myself.

Then my wife walked into the room refreshed from the walk she’d just taken and encouraged me to go on one. I peeled myself up from the bed and made my way out the door. It made a world of difference.

In times of crisis, we can easily find ourselves immobilized by fear and panic. We all learn to live with a certain level of uncertainty. But when that sense of uncertainty rises beyond a threshold, life can feel unbearable. 

The massive disruption of our daily lives is unleashing anxiety the likes we’ve never seen before. With the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak bearing down on us, nothing feels safe anymore as modern life grounds to a halt.

How do we navigate a world that feels unsafe and dangerous?

How do we stay healthy when we can’t go to the gym or hang out with friends? How do we keep ourselves and our loved ones safe against an invisible enemy? How do we help our vulnerable neighbors and friends when we’re not able to be near them? How do we care for our sick and dying? How do we deal with the sudden loss of friends and loved ones?

If you’re feeling helpless, afraid, or angry (or all three and then some), know that you don’t have to allow your emotions to hold you hostage. You can still act. You don’t have to be heroic. You can just decide put on your sneakers and go for a walk (of course, keeping a safe distance from anyone you may encounter). If you’re sheltering in place, walk around the house, the backyard, or on the treadmill.

Regardless of where you find yourself physically or emotionally, know that you can take a stand. You can act. Because in order to navigate chaos, you need to plant your feet on some stable ground. The good news is that you don’t have to go on a long and dangerous expedition to find it.

You just need to do a little inner work.

Here’s how:

1. Acknowledge your anxiety

Before Coronavirus, anxiety was already on the rise. Now it’s far worse as we begin to digest this new normal we find ourselves in. 

The first step is to simply acknowledge that you are anxious or afraid. Don’t be surprised if your anxiety manifests itself as anger, impatience, or indecision. Make space for your feelings, understanding that your response is natural and is designed to protect you from perceived danger. And though it does a lousy job of actually protecting you in situations like this, it’s the thought that counts.

In her book, First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Sarah Wilson writes:

“Anxiety is painful, There’s nothing quite like it. It’s extremely private and lonely and it comes with the overwhelming sense that no one on the planet could possibly relate to the intensity and sharpness.” 

“And yet anxiety also feels like an original, human pain that we all just know.”

How do we navigate the chaotic pain of anxiety? We remember that our experience of anxiety is natural, normal, and universal.

2. Take care of yourself

So how do you deal with the particular and universal truth of anxiety? You take care of yourself.

Yes, it’s harder to do so when we’ve lost our ability to go to the gym or hang out with friends or catch a movie. It’s harder to do so when we’re bombarded with news, emails, and alerts telling us just how bad things are and how much worse they’re likely to get.

But you can still take care of yourself. Here’s how you’re going to do it. Bookmark the link donothingfor2minutes.com. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, anxious, bored, or angry, go to that link and pause for 2 minutes.

It might be the one of the few ways you can safely practice self-care right now. After you’ve tried it a few times, you’ll happily discover that it’s really all you need.

3. Take care of each other

With kids off from school and people working or recovering from home, our relationships may be tested like they’ve never been tested before. 

You think it’s tough being anxious? Try being anxious in close proximity to other people who are just as anxious. Our increased irritability may make it hard for us to be kind to each other. 

Take this time to really get to know your loved ones. Try doing things you may not have done before, like playing board games. 

If you find yourself physically separated from loved ones due to geographical distance, do regular Skype calls to check-in with each other. Call neighbors and friends to make sure they’re ok.

Even though we must practice social distancing to keep each other safe, we don’t have to be distant from each other emotionally. We don’t have to go through the crisis alone even if we’re physically alone.

Here’s a touching example:

4. Pray

As this crisis is unfolding, Christians around the world are observing the holy season of Lent. In recent years, Lent has become synonymous with giving up chocolate. Well, this year we’re giving up much more, including the ability to congregate in our houses of worship. 

But we can still pray. We can pray for the many thousands who have lost their lives in this pandemic. We can pray for their grieving families. We can pray for medical professionals and first responders. We can pray for ourselves and our families.

We can even call an impromptu church gathering from the comfort of our homes (because that’s where the Church started, minus Instagram).

If you find yourself stranded in a place you’d rather not be, pray this prayer with me:

“I’ll stay where You’ve put me; I will, dear Lord;

I’ll bear the day’s burden and heat, 

Always trusting You fully; when sunset has come

I’ll lay stalks of grain at Your feet.

And then, when my earth work is ended and done, 

In the light of eternity’s glow, 

Life’s record all closed, I surely will find

It was better to stay than to go;

I’ll stay where You’ve put me.

Excerpt from March 17 devotion from Streams in the Desert