Its A Jungle Out There

To express stress about the overwhelming and sometimes scary world that we live in, there are a couple of phrases I’ve heard people use. One is it’s a jungle out there, which usually means that the world is too crazy to really understand, and we should resign ourselves to that fact.

I’ve also heard the term it’s a circus, which is the same idea with a bit more chaos thrown in for good measure.

These phrases are sometimes used in an exasperated way, when the world has gotten a hold of our heart and won’t let go. We exclaim them when we walk through the door after a long day. We use them to describe chaos.

But a jungle and circus are actually both organized systems. They may be more complex than other systems and have many moving parts, but they are systems nonetheless.

A jungle functions in a particular, despite the fact that we have to use blades to cut through it. Circus owners plan every last detail to create an illusion of chaos and discord (which in turn creates excitement).

We are most stressed by the systems that we haven’t taken the time to understand and that are so dense it’s hard to move through them. They seem like they are a blob of chaos and disorganization, but they’re actually a balancing act of nature and nurture.