Cosmos in Chaos

For one of my classes I had to peruse a few books and come up with ideas and answers to the question, "what is art?"  I ended up pulling out one of my favorite books: Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle.  She discusses in length what art is, but I am particularly struck by her first and primary definition.  "Art is cosmos found within chaos."

The word cosmos today typically conjures up vague images of stars and galaxies...something about the universe, or outer space.  But in this sense it means a lot more.  The dictionary defines cosmos as order and harmony.  In the larger sense, it also can mean a complete, harmonious and orderly system--that's where we get the meaning in relation to the universe. L'Engle says that art, this sense of harmony and order in the midst of chaos, affirms meaning in a world that doesn't know right from wrong and therefore has no meaning.  It is communication.  It is a vehicle of truth, and it seeks to make sense of the confusions and complications of life.

The idea of seeing cosmos in chaos greatly appeals to me--it's something I try to seek in little bits here and there throughout my own everyday life.  Sometimes I forget.  But occasionally, when I remember keep my eyes open, I write about the glimpses of beauty I catch.  And that's part of the reason I decided to start a blog.

It was a thought I had several weeks ago.  I liked the idea, but wasn't sure I'd have enough time to keep up a blog, what with school and work and maintaining some form of a social life.  Clearly, this post is proof that I decided to try and see what happens.

And when I asked myself the question "why blog?", I came to the conclusion that I want it to be a place where you might find some meaning in the mundane, a bit of beauty in everyday life, and help you remember there is cosmos in chaos.