"If you obey the rules, you can't survive." These words were said to be with such boldness this afternoon as I sipped my espresso and chatted with my friend Giz. As we talked about her native city, Istanbul, she told be about the chaos you find once you arrive in it. Organized chaos is how she defined the system in this metropolitan. It got me thinking about systems and structures.
Who created systems? Who was the person or the group that said that society had to function within a structural body? Hierarchical structures are found in every aspect of society, politics, economics, fashion, sports, universities and more. You name something and I am sure there is some structure to it. Are the structures in place to give people power, to maintain order, to create stability? Or are there structures so that people conform to an idea, a mission or goal? Are structures good or bad?
Well I would have to say they are a little of both. From one perspective, structures are a foundation that allows people to define roles and needs. The ability to shape ideas and how to attend to these plans or goals are catered by these systems. You are able to flourish through a structure and access the resources around it. Systems are comfortable, and for the most part reliable. People are not as skeptical of entering a well-established system because it allows us to conform to this dynamic settlement.
On the other had, structures usually begin as exciting and prosperous and eventually turn stagnate and uncreative. There seems to be a lack of new ideas and . It is like cultivating a garden of tomatoes. You plant the seeds, await for the sun and rain to fuel your crop, but in the end you only get tomatoes and nothing else. The search for other fruits or vegetables are unattainable in this uniform structure. Like societal systems, the desire to plan a new crop is frightening. People are afraid to challenge the system and people within the system are too comfortable, or even complaisant to change.
What to do with this idea of structures and systems? I believe that you can find a happy medium. Structures are essential in order to build a foundation and set a precedent for more ideas to bloom from an original idea or mission. I think it is essential for people to function within a system in order to learn what it takes to build one or work within one. But, I also think that sometimes we need to fight the rules, challenge the stability to see if for one, it is in fact a stable and efficient system and two, to see if there anything new and creative that can make the structure more accessible and innovative. It's not a black and white question. There are shades of grey which are essential to explore. Organized chaos can sometimes be as effective as over-structured bodies. So, if you are one of those people in a system that feels complaisant and stagnate, bring on an innovative idea you may have to the table, it might just be the seed to a new fruit in your tomato garden.
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