Take Comfort in Order

Photos organized in a photo box

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The order of things that bring comfort. There’s a moment’s respite when I spot a stack of books, or the pattern of brick on a wall, or a row of items displayed neatly across a table. Are you drawn to order, too? Anecdotally, it appears most of us are.

Lately, I’ve captured images of arranged stuff and posted them to my Instagram feed, which ironically is all about ordering images, too. Things in an organized state seem beautiful.

As with organizing other things, lists sooth us, too. I make them, tick things off, and even glean greater information by re-reading them.

Lists.

Create.

Order.

Out.

Of.

Chaos.

It feels like there is more chaos these days, but of course that’s only because it’s closer to home. A broader view reveals that times are always chaotic. Check out the news or read a bit of history, and the message is clear: life resists our sense of order and constantly changes toward something new.

RECOGNIZE OUR REACTION TO DISORDER

In a world where the force of change is out of my control, I like the order of stuff. And yet, I tend to live in a fairly disorganized space. But then, each spring, I get inspired and go through things and clean—which probably also explains my recent attention to all things ordered.

While nature moves toward constant change, humans are driven to control and shape it.

I learned this inevitability is called entropy, which is nature’s constant move to change. A piece over at Farnam Street titled “Entropy: The Hidden Force That Complicates Life” beautifully details several examples of entropy at work.

Entropy quashes our efforts in everything. Even time undergoes entropy. We move from the past in one direction toward an uncertain future.

As Stephen Hawking said in “A Brief History of Time”:

“The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.”

SOLACE AWAITS YOU

The point? We are in a dance with the universe which, as it turns out, is completely natural. And somehow, in understanding the relationship between the desires of humans and our interplay with nature, we can be reassured. We have our role in the scheme of things.

For now, while we’re all cloistered away in our homes, I’ve been busy manifesting order of things where I can. In the process, I’ve discovered weird collections of ordered things and wonder what the bigger findings mean. Here is the list:

Borzo Collections List

Wine openers

Containers and containers of corks

Pens and pencils (loads of them!)

Paper

Coasters

Tiny spoons

Tiny forks

Tiny spread knives

Photos

Framed photos

Books

There is a lifetime of collecting in that list, and for now I’ve just put like things together—a box of coasters, a basket of tiny forks and knives, etc. It’s apparent that we like wine and food. My waistline gave that fact away, too.

Perhaps the burning question is why I can never find a hammer. I purchase a new one every other year, but never can find one when I need it. One of my collections now includes half a dozen hammers.

While the need for order will always be blown away by nature’s power to unleash chaos, we persevere. We can’t stop the change that’s meant to happen, but we can play our part while we’re here in the fray.

Postscript: I’ve always enjoyed the work of artist Jeff Wall who makes disorder look beautiful in his photographs, perhaps because the chaos is ordered or choreographed. I would love to discuss his work with anyone who is a Jeff Wall fan.

Postscript x2: Spring is a time of thinking refresh and organizing of our spaces. I was in the mode BEFORE the pandemic required we all stay inside. If you need help and inspiration, I recommend the Get Organized Gal’s courses for support.

I used her course to organize my office, and it is in pretty good shape these days. Success in one space has lead to cleaning channels to other rooms and photos as well. Check out he courses here.

Sherry and Alexandra Borzo together in Lima, Peru

Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

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