This is more of a ‘how’ than it is an ‘if’ question’. We all order our world, it’s how we make sense of what is happening and it helps us determine our responses. Ordering is neither good or bad, it is a given, an ‘is’. And yes, our ordering impacts on the effectiveness of our responses.
According to Webster, order is: a condition in which everything is in its place and working properly. I believe it’s equally important to identify and understand how the various parts relate to one another. I also believe you will be surprised at just how much makes up your world: family, church, work, friends, leisure, organizations, etc. and those were only the broad headings. Additionally, they don’t always agree as to which is the most important, as each requires time, involvement, money, energy, etc.
What we are seeking is equilibrium among the various components. Generally speaking, everything is always attempting to find equilibrium so that everything is working properly. This, unfortunately, rarely lasts because of all the stimuli bombarding us constantly. So the on-the-fly question is how do we respond to, integrate successfully the old order and the new demands?
While we can always work toward that utopian state of equilibrium, we also need to know how to cope when this is not attained (which is typically about 98% of the time). What we also need to remember is that it is those times when things aren’t in balance that typically create new learnings. Or, it can become a time to ‘experiment’ with new behaviors.
Ordering can’t be a once do and done. While ordering provides structure, a framework – our mindset, some of the parts of the structure are ‘set in cement’ but there are more porous parts that change as other pieces are added or further understanding occurs. Ordering increases as we learn and interact more and more with our world.
