Submitted by: Raquel Rusing

About two weeks ago, I took the initiative to do something for myself: complain to my mother about my personal trials and tribulations associated with the economic crisis at hand. For example, “No one wants to hire an MBA… they only want engineers! Why was I a pure mathematician?? I should have done applied math! And now I’m too expensive! I’ll never get a job after school and I’ll starve to death three days after returning from Chindia because my bank account will have negative cash flows.” I got so angry with my mother’s optimism because she was ruining my poor fortune, at a time when I needed to vent, that we hung up on one another. Later, I received a text (yes, she’s that saavy). It read: Tweeter, in the Chinese language, chaos and opportunity are the same word because opportunity arises from chaos. You have such a bright future ahead of you! We are so proud of you, take care of yourself. Love YOUR mom.

Aside from the fact that my mother has always been the steadfast backbone of my chaotic lifestyle, I doubt she realized the true weight of her words. And to be honest, I didn’t realize them either until today… thanks to good ol’ Morgan O’Hara. Morgan cracked a joke about how I must have a new fascination with China because of the jade Buddha dangling from my neck. Although I chuckled, I responded quickly to justify its purpose: I have owned the necklace for several years and although I am not a Buddhist, it serves as my tangible reminder to remain balanced. Then, my mother’s text clicked. See, I dedicate myself to a disciplined order of things in hopes of finding balance between my thirst for spontaneity and my naturally linear thought patterns. I have always viewed the constant chaos as a flaw and struggle to repress it. But leave it to my mother to make me feel better because in her own subtle and amazing way, she once again reminded me that we can leverage personal weaknesses to develop ourselves both intellectually and emotionally.

This got me thinking about how I handle chaos. I learned a fairly well-known mantra from a good friend of mine years ago and often recite it when I feel lost. I still strive to truly understand its meaning, but the mantra is for prajna, or Transcendent Wisdom, which occupies a paramount position in Buddhist teachings. One is taught to balance compassion with prajna, such as emotions with logic.

“Tayata gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi soha.”
Translation: “Gone, gone, gone beyond. Gone completely beyond. Awakened. So be it.”

For me, the mantra reminds me that the only limitations in my life will be my mind. It reminds me to never stop searching or growing. I believe it inspires compassion, transforms confusion into clarity and suffering into joy. And I think this is where the concept of chaos and opportunity come into play. Although there is conflict surrounding the idea that chaos and opportunity are linked in the Chinese language, I believe the concept still exists. Like right now! A chaotic economic spiral is the perfect opportunity to Carpe Diem! A Wall Street Journal Article published in October of 2008 explains how such a phenomenon exists in the business world, “…Economic downturns create more opportunities for companies to move from the middle of the pack into leadership positions than any other time in business. Unlike [non-chaotic times], where leaders can thrive on raw power alone, [chaos] requires strategic finesse. That often results in dramatic differences in performance.”

Well, we’re in a spiral of chaos now.. a tornado of change… a moment of opportunity? Your thoughts?

By the by, I called to tell my mother I loved her and to thank you for her words, since they really helped me put things into a new perspective. Her response was, “Thank goodness I read the Wall Street Journal.” HA. Go Mom!