Open Heart with Lu Leslan

Chaos

• Lu Leslan

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0:00 | 12:20

What if chaos isn't the problem? What if breakdown is how the system works? In this episode, Lu explores chaos as a functional process—from her granddaughter April's first grade lesson about good and bad germs, to the second law of thermodynamics, to the emotional chaos of puberty and relationships. She draws a powerful parallel between how our bodies process food beneath our awareness and how life processes growth beneath our conscious understanding. This is about trusting the breakdown, sitting with the overwhelm, and discovering that chaos is the work—not the punishment.

SHOW NOTES:

IN THIS EPISODE:

  • April's lesson: good germs and bad germs working together
  • The second law of thermodynamics: entropy and why we can't stop disorder
  • The body as chaos processor: learning to listen to its signals
  • Chaos through life: moving, remodeling, reorganizing
  • Chaos through the body: puberty, relationships, growing pains
  • Sitting with chaos: allowing energy to work through the system
  • The duality of seen and unseen: macro life continues while micro chaos rebuilds
  • The practice: sit with chaos, trust the breakdown

QUOTE: "We are the architects of the intention, but the guests of the process."

SHARE YOUR STORY: lu@leslancreativestudio.com

NEXT EPISODE: Intention – Living by design, not by default.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Lu's first documentary: Take a Bow: The Ingrid Clarfield Story (2011)

SPEAKER_00

What if chaos isn't the problem? What if breakdown is how the system works? What if the overwhelm you feel during change is just your body doing what it's designed to do? Welcome to Open Heart Podcast. I am Lou Leslin, your host. This is a podcast where we share ideas, stories, and questions with an open heart so we can be kinder and wiser to ourselves and each other. Every week we'll discuss a topic where I share my observation, ideas and questions with you, and I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and reflections too. Please send them to Lou at Lesland Creative Studio dot com. Today's topic is chaos. In episode six, we explored imperfection. We learned to hold the paradox striving for excellence and accepting imperfection at the same time. And I said when you embrace imperfection you become ready for chaos. Not the chaos of disorder, but the functional chaos that breaks things down to build them back up, the chaos that fuels growth. That's where we are now. Chaos. My granddaughter April is in first grade. She came home from school and told me she's learning about germs. She said our bodies have good germs and bad germs. They work together to digest what we drink and what we eat, to pee and poop. I looked at her and said yes, everything turns to shit without any assistance. The body does what it needs to be done. We continue on to live and eat and poop until one day the body decides it's had enough and calls it quit. April nodded, she got it. Out of the mouth of first graders, chaos is part of the process. Here's what April's teacher didn't tell her, but what she will learn eventually. It's the second law of thermodynamics, entropy. Entropy means disorder increases naturally. We cannot stop it. We cannot reverse it. We can only work with it. Everything breaks down. Food breaks down into nutrients and waste. Buildings break down into rubble. Relationships break down into lessons and memories. This isn't failure, this is physics. Chaos is the process. Breakdown is how systems function. Our bodies are designed to keep us alive. They send signals when something isn't working right hunger, fatigue, pain, discomfort. Learning to listen to our bodies, understanding what they're saying through our consciousness, keep us on track. The body doesn't lie. It tells you I'm breaking this down, I'm distributing nutrients, I am eliminating waste, I'm working. That work is chaos, systematic, functional, necessary chaos. And we go on with our day without knowledge of what's happening inside. As we go through each stage of life, we experience chaos along the way. Have you ever moved from one house to another? Have you ever tried to reorganize the garage? Have you ever done any remodeling? You know how chaotic it can be. Everything's in boxes, nothing is where it should be, the kitchen is torn apart, you cannot find anything, and you live in disorder. It's overwhelming and yet this is exactly where the work begins. Puberty is chaos. Hormones surge, the body transforms in ways we do not choose and cannot control. And that transformation never really stops. The body keeps changing sometimes in ways that surprise us, sometimes in ways that hurt. We fall in love, we fall out of love, we navigate sexuality, emotional maturity, the terrifying intimacy of actually being known by another person. We learn how deeply we can connect and how badly we can wound each other when that connection breaks. This is growing pains. Not a metaphor, actual pain, actual growth. The chaos isn't a problem to fix. It's the method by which we become someone new. You can't force the hormones to settle. You can't skip the heartbreak. You can't avoid the outward fumbling toward maturity. You go through it, the body does its work, you emerge different. When we sit with that chaos and work with it, we allow the energy to work through the system, just like our bodies break down every bite we ingest to distribute nutrients to our brain and muscles and cells. The chaos of moving isn't random, is breakdown phase before the rebuild. The chaos of remodeling isn't destruction, is making space for something new. The chaos of heartbreak isn't failure, is the system processing what no longer serves. The same applies to life. Some people look to the stars for guidance. They avoid certain days because the signs are adverse. They wait for auspicious moments to act. But if growth is as natural and automated as digestion, then what are these signs really telling us? Adverse signs are just periods of heavy lifting for our internal systems. Auspicious signs are the moments when energy reaches our limbs and we feel the strength. You are not a victim of the weather or the stars. You are a biological and spiritual system that knows how to process chaos into fuel. The chaos is the work, not the punishment. Here's what I've come to understand. On the macro level, we continue with our daily lives. We work, we eat, we sleep, we move forward. On the macro level, chaos is doing its work, breaking down, distributing nutrients, eliminating waste, rebuilding. We don't need to know the details of the breakdown to benefit from the nutrients of the experience. Intention is the act of eating the food, the choice we make. Patience is going on with our day while the inner work happens. We are the architects of the intention, but the guests of the process. Here's the practice. Sit with chaos. Work with it. When you are in the middle of moving and everything's in boxes, sit with it. When you are reorganizing the garage looks worse before it looks better, sit with it. When your heart is breaking and you don't understand why, sit with it. Allow the energy to work through the system. Trust the breakdown. Trust that nutrients are being distributed to where they're needed. Trust that waste is being eliminated. The body does what needs to be done. So does life. Listen to the signals. When chaos feels overwhelming, it's your system saying, I'm working, heavy lifting happening here. Be patient. It's not a sign to stop. It's a sign the process is functioning. When you trust chaos as a functional process, you can set intentions with confidence. Not because you control the outcome, but because you trust the process to do what it's designed to do. That's where we're going next. Intention. I'd love to hear your story, thoughts, and questions. Please send them to Loulu at Leslen Creativstudio.com. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Open Heart. This is a podcast where we share ideas, stories, and questions with an open heart so we can be kinder and wiser to ourselves and each other. Take care.