Thought Experiment: Island of Sanity or Sea of Chaos?

With the U.S. election front and center, multiple international wars, misinformation, climate change, algorithms that bring us into echo chambers, and so much more, I often find myself pausing and wondering: How do we navigate living in world that feels like it’s teetering on the brink of chaos?

Lately, I've been thinking of the wisdom in the work of Margaret Wheatley, a writer, teacher, and consultant who has spent over 50 years exploring leadership in complex times.?

Her proposal? We cultivate “Islands of Sanity.”

Island of Sanity

Wheatley describes these Islands of Sanity as intentional communities—organizations or groups—grounded in human generosity, creativity, and kindness. Since words create worlds, let’s establish a shared definition of these key concepts:

• Generosity: Embodying a spirit of abundance, sharing, and a willingness to give freely.
• Creativity: Thriving on fresh ideas, innovation, and the ability to think beyond conventional boundaries.
• Kindness: Living with empathy, compassion, and a willingness to act in ways that uplift or support others.

From Wheatley’s perspective, these islands become sanctuaries, preserving the essence of what it means to be human. She believes true systemic change occurs in these spaces where people join together to form communities. This concept also emphasizes that leadership isn’t merely top-down and directive; leaders can emerge at any level of an organization, group, or community.

This sounds a little idealistic, so then I wonder: What’s the opposite?

Sea of Chaos

If an Island of Sanity is grounded in community and shared purpose, and the defining characteristics are generosity, creativity, and kindness, then Sea of Chaos is defined by stinginess, rigidity, and indifference. Let's establish shared meanings for these contrasting characteristics:

• Stinginess: A reluctance to share, the tendency to hoard, or prioritizing one’s own needs over others'. The opposite of generosity.
• Rigidity: Clinging to established norms, routines, and rules without flexibility or imagination. The opposite of creativity.
• Indifference: A lack of concern or empathy for others' well-being. The opposite of kindness. Note: Some might say that cruelty is the opposite of kindness, and I think that is true, but I think indifference might be more relevant and insidious.?

What does it feel like to be part of a community that is defined by it’s shared characteristics of stinginess, rigidity, and indifference? I wonder if communities like that actually stay in community with each other, or eventually fall apart and fracture overtime. Perhaps, the eventual fracturing and unpredictability is what leads to a state of chaos, the eventually creating a Sea of Chaos.?

A Thought Experiment

Join me for a thought experiment. Imagine standing in a room that you must leave. You must walk through one of two doors. The door on your left will lead you to a room defined by kindness, while the door on your right will lead you to a room characterized by stinginess.

Which room would you like to enter?

Generosity :: Stinginess

You make your choice, walk towards the door, and enter a reality where people embody that characteristic. You spend five minutes there, observing and engaging with the people around you.?

Your five minutes are up, you find yourself needing to choose again. This time, the door on the left leads to a room characterized by creativity, and the door on the right opens into a room characterized by rigidity. You pause, reflect, and make your choice.

Creativity :: Rigidity

You enter the new room. Once inside, you spend another five minutes with people embodying the trait you selected. Notice how it feels to be in this room.?

When those five minutes end, you face yet another choice. The door on the left leads to a room characterized by kindness, while the door on the right opens to a room characterized by indifference. Once more, you pause, look inward, and make your decision.

Kindness :: Indifference

You step through the door, spend five minutes in this reality, and begin to sense the experiment’s deeper implications.

Just when you think it’s over, you realize that the cycle begins again. There are two doors in front of you. You must choose, over and over, between these realities. You come to understand that this experiment will continue indefinitely, repeating over and over, until the day you die.?

Before entering the next room, it hits you that this isn’t about doing what’s right or wrong. It’s not someone telling you what to do.

It also doesn’t matter what doors you’ve walked through before. The past is behind you and those doors have closed. All you have to do is choose which door to walk through right now, in this moment.?

And you realize, that in this experiment, you have the burden and opportunity of choice.?

You realize that you’re the only one who can choose which reality you will create and inhabit, over, and over, and over again, until the experiment ends.?

What reality do you choose to create and inhabit?

- Alex Wallash

As always, I appreciate that you’ve take time out of your life to read what I find myself thinking about! If you have questions, comments, or liked what you read, subscribe, tag me in a comment, or send me a message.?

Photo: Designed by Dall-E with prompts from this article.