Peace and Chaos

Now that I have started this blog a question has come up in my mind that I need to devote some time to here. The question came up to me the other day as I spent some time wrestling with five little kids in our living room. The scene was certainly chaotic. Almost half a dozen little people jumped on me at random to which I responded by tickling them or knocking them down or some other fun playful thing. Then they got back up, backed away and run at me again. Arms and legs were flying everywhere, pillows were thrown recklessly, and bodies were flailing about. At yet in the middle of all this chaos, I and these children are all certainly at peace. And so the question is, what is the relationship between chaos and peace? Are the two opposites or can they coexist together? Should we really avoid chaos and search for peace or is chaos a good thing in itself that we should embrace? Finally, I have to explain that a similar question arises in my current job. I have moved from a traditional project manager to a scrum project manager. Without getting into the details of the differences, suffice it to say that scrum gets its name from Rugby where players go at each other in a large pile trying to win possession of the ball. It is certainly a very chaotic looking scene. So have I moved in my professional life away from the very thing that I thought I was so good at...calming the chaos and finding peace?

Okay, so I have put forth more than just one question I suppose. However, I think they all really get down to the same root of what is chaos and what is peace. There are a number of definitions given for chaos in the online edition of Miriam-Webster but I think the most relevant one here is "a state of utter confusion." I think the key word there is confusion. In the situations I presented earlier I do not see any confusion. The kids and I were certainly not confused about what we were doing. We were rough housing and having fun. And in the case of the Rugby team, there certainly is no confusion among the team members as to what they are doing. They all work together as a unit, following the rules of play, to win possession of the ball. The reason I think that these things look like chaos is not from the inside, but rather from the outside. If someone, who didn't know me from Adam, had entered my house as I flung kids left and right around the living room, they certainly would be confused at least initially about whether I was a friend to these children or an attacker. Similarly, a new spectator at a rugby game would be perplexed to see the mess of people that is a scrum (I know this one from experience).

There is of course another angle at which to attack this question as well. For this I will have to take two somewhat different definitions for the word peace. First there is "a state of tranquility or quiet" and then there is "harmony in personal relations." That first definition certainly does not allow space for a room full of screaming children and the ogre they are attacking. Nor would it allow us to understand the scrum of men pushing and shoving each other around. But the second definition does. It takes peace out of the realm of just what we observe and puts it up higher. I think that is where peace belongs. It is more than just a thing that can be sensed. Peace cuts us down to our souls. Peace must be experienced.

Why I'm starting a blog

So last week I went through training here at Lexmark to help me better understand how to be a scrum master. I learned many new things from the class but one thing really stuck with me. As the instructor was describing project management he said that what we are really trying to bring order to the chaos. I think that is a great way to understand what it is that project managers are trying to do. In particular I feel that it really explains why I am so drawn to project management. Most importantly, it has drawn for me a connection between my faith and my career.

Projects are very complex. They involve many different people with different opinions, values, and goals. They crawl across time incorporating various deliverables each with an associated cost to produce. Trying to make sure that the schedule, scope, and budget are predictable and known is not an easy task and initially at least they are all in the realm of the unknown. Thus all the chaos. Then the project manager comes in and attempts to get to know all these unknowns and lay them out in some kind of order. Then the tough job of bringing all those disparate opinions, values, and goals into line can begin.

So way am I so drawn to such a practice as this? Well, I am made, I think, with the unique gifts of being a peace maker. Of the four temperaments, I am decidedly a Phlegmatic. The one who wants everyone to get along and for things to be in order. And so I am constantly trying to determine how things should be done to fit everyones needs. A perfect fit for project management.

Now enter my faith. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. In one sense at least peace is the opposite of chaos. So in a way, project managers are bringing about peace in this world. We are doing the work of our God to calm the chaos of all these messy projects. In doing so we are creating work for people to do and helping to move forward toward our final goal of Heaven.

So now all that is left is to explain the titles. I am starting this blog because I have wanted to start a blog for some time. The problem I had was knowing what to write about. I knew I wanted it to involve my faith, but as of yet I had not really found a way to incorporate my faith into my life. And so adding another responsibility of writing about my faith to my days did not seem prudent. Now though, I have connected faith to my career. No longer do I have to view this blog as a departure from my daily tasks, but rather it is an extension of them. So now whenever I write a blog entry I can say that I was able to find time for peace.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." - Matthew 5:9