It's Wild Card Time!
Let's see what random thought provoking question Bruce will answer now!
I’m rolling the dice to see which of Rachel Martin’s Wild Cards I’ll draw today. Remember there are three areas- Memories, Insights, and Beliefs. I’ve decided to randomize it a bit, but at least for this first time around not repeat a section. If I roll a number I have already rolled, I will re roll.
Rolls of three, and seven, so “Beliefs” and the Question is “Where do you see order?”
Wow. Good Question- That’s what everyone is supposed to say to give them more time to think… I learned that when doing job interviews, most of which I never got called back, so I guess it really didn’t matter.
I realized a long time ago due to how anxious I get I must be “Lawful Good.” For those who don’t play Dungeons and Dragons that means I’m a goodie two-shoes. If there are rules, I follow them, for the most part. While I have a moral compass outside of the rules set upon us, I get anxious if I don’t follow society’s rules, no matter how inane they might be. I’m one of those people who was brought up with the belief that if you arrive on time- you’re late, that kind of thing. You don’t lie. You do your best at work. I really had hoped I could say I was “Chaotic Good” but while I embrace the chaos that life throws at us, I really have issues not following the rules. Whimventuring aside, I’m much more comfortable knowing where I’m going to sleep each night, and that everything is planned out. Which might be why when I was called out for doing things on a “whim” I was confused.
I recall when the time of COVID came and things got a bit chaotic (nothing to do with the way society embraced Science and then truth 🙄) I decided to grow a beard. You see, when I was in college and everyone else experimented with how they looked: hairstyles, piercings, facial hair… I was an elementary education major. Because of that, I felt I really couldn’t do all that “finding yourself” stuff because I was in a classroom, interacting with kids and needed to show “order.” I needed to be something constant, even though I realize now, I saw these kids once during an observation, but I still needed to be what society would deem “professional.” COVID threw that away in so many ways. So I decided to just let go and grow a beard when I was at home Zooming. When I returned to school I bounced between shaving and having a beard, when I retired… I did the same thing. The beard became a way to embrace chaos and go against the order of things. Even though beards kind of became the norm I embraced the chaos… “Look at me! I’m Bohemian!”
Sadly, when I consider the question of “Where do you see order?” in this day and age, it’s hard to answer, especially in America after the last election. Growing up I tended to see order in the adults I was influenced by, things happened on a set schedule. My life was orderly, because someone else (usually my mother) was in charge of the schedule. As I grew up and became an educator, the same thing, I had the school calendar and the school day. I recall trying to make plans with other people and sitting back knowing what my schedule was going to be decades out. No need to ask for time off, I knew when Spring Break would be, when the off season started, and when we came back to school. These might fluctuate a bit, but for 35 years they guided my life. I rarely took days off, I ended up with over 300 “sick days.” I can’t stay out late, it’s a school night. So that might have been the order I saw in the world. Retired, I don’t see it. Especially in today’s world. Rules seem to only apply when you want them to, and if you are wealthy enough they never have to apply to you. I can now do things on a “whim.” I still try to give myself some sense of order, but now it’s all a bit fuzzy. Where the order now comes might be from my cats. I keep trying to get work to give me order with a regular schedule… so far hasn’t happened. With Sue working more and more from home, what could be a “schedule” doesn’t exist. Maybe that’s one of the benefits of growing older, you get a chance to not have to deal with “order” you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Chaotic Good- here I come… and yes, I’m a bit scared about that.
