Entropy.
It is the relentless, inexorable march toward disorder that both marked the creation of the universe in the big bang and will be the death of the universe when it all cools to an ember in the big chill.
One might say that entropy is the natural order of things. It’s therefore so very easy– to watch something whither or even to tear something down. One may also argue that it’s far easier to be alone than to be together. Isolated in a specialty, in a job description, in a label. It’s natural. Constant fragmentation.
What’s tough is fighting the system. That’s why I would posit that everything worthwhile that any of us has done in our lives probably constitutes a battle against entropy. Marriage, family, relationships– the easiest thing to do would be to let them whither. Again, isolation, as is abundantly evident, is the order of the universe.
Antientropy– building things– is hard. Making a team is hard. Fusing organizations and specialties is hard. It all takes energy.
Isn’t it almost always worth it, though?
The energy expended in doing these things invariably sets us at a higher state. Rather than a Hobbesian state of nature, where life is “nasty, brutish and short”, it is a state of team play– of family– where we can work together to make a difference.
I think I speak for my friend Joe Mills and for the rest of our team when I say that this is why we enjoy “making SALSA” so very much. Enjoy your time fighting the system. It may be unnatural, but it’s unnaturally rewarding.
Ah, Sir iPod is waxing podophilosophically on Sunday afternoon during monsoon season! I prefer to think of life as a battle against inertia. It of course requires energy to set an object in motion or to change its direction, and the energy required is proportional to the mass of the object. This is, after all, Newton's First Law. In socioeconomic and academic circles, the larger the organization (increasing mass) that requires being set in motion or whose direction should need alteration, the more energy (ergs) one must expend. A group of people working toward a common goal can often supply more ergs than a heroic individual toiling heroically, yet alone.