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My office at the moment

There is something interesting happening. As I write, my office is being torn apart as the local plumber replaces our home’s hot water tank. There is a lot of chaos, with the washer and dryer moved out of the bathroom and into my office proper, and the plumber and his little Jack Russel darting around the place. The more we get past the hot water tank, the more little problems we find, like the fact that my main water shut-off valve isn’t working anymore. So we’ll replace that too…if we can find the shut off from the municipal water system.

My kids are completley underfoot, asking questions, talking non-stop, curious about the repair work, the nature of the dog, the main water shut-off valve, and a million other things. They have an insatiable curiosity in the midst of all this chaos.

And that got me thinking…

My kids are sparking around the chaos, unable to stay away and wanting to know everything that is happening. The plumber is a really good-natured guy and he’s letting them help, which is just increasing their learning about plumbing by leaps and bounds.

Think about this analogy in organizations. Most adults I know flee from chaos. When something goes really wrong, most people seize up. There is a low tolerance for watching things come apart, and in some cases, a complete fear of the uncertainty.

But the lesson that my kids are sharing with me today is this: chaos gives us a chance to tear everything down and see how it works. Sometimes we have to put it right back together again (I mean in this case, it IS a hot water tank…) but there is always an opportunity to do something new, to learn about what is really going on, to improve important things at a deeper level that maybe needed care before but suffered from being buried under habit and routine.

Chaos’ costs are recovered by the resulting order’s benefits, the deeper engagement with how things work and the comfort that comes from knowing that the short term pain has given us some longer term security.

And hot water.