Korean spice verbena stands outside the living room door. Round clusters of red buds will soon open to scented pink flowers. Our home will then fill with a fragrance that is both sweet and spicy. Roots of this pungent plant found their way into my garden some twenty years ago.
Turning to nature helps me feel peaceful. Meaning is easier to find among the hydrangeas than in today’s headlines. I continue to look for places where the world makes sense. In my garden, I discover predictable patterns. Wild pink phlox bloom this time of year. Native Americans noticed nature’s rhythms. They named each full moon to reflect what was happening around them. On April 12th we will see the pink moon. It was named to honor these rosy flowers. 
Exploring ways to bring calm to chaos led me to Nobel prize winning chemist, Llya Prigogine. “When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.”
Prigogine, who died in 2003, said what we need to hear in 2025. Acts of sanity can ripple through our world. Steps towards wholeness and love are always steps in the right direction. They are powerful influences especially in a disordered world.
What are islands of coherence? They form when we gather to share our intentions in order to create a meaningful life. We all need places that provide those opportunities. It is wonderful to discover them or form them with others. They have the power to shift a system that is out of balance.
Contagion is something we usually associate with disease. But energy both positive and negative also passes from person to person.
How can we each contribute to calming our culture?
We begin with ourselves.
Self-coherence is a state of inner peace. OK, I know that sounds impossible in today’s world. In some moments, it seems unreachable to me. Maybe that is true for you also. But a few moments of coherence impact the energy of others and our own. Each little bit does make a difference. Even little acts of kindness that we offer a salesclerk, a stranger, or a fellow driver helps.
How do we resist a crazy political climate that can consume our attention? We do it by caring for and feeding our soul. It has never been more important. We need to find ways that enhance inner peace.
Mother nature is our best teacher when it comes to maintaining a coherent system. Her harmonious ways present predictable patterns. She weaves together ecosystems that sustain all forms of life. Mother Nature’s cycles are far reaching. Noticing her changes can shift our inner state. This is why our troubled mind often seeks nature to find harmony.
I will look up at that pink moon on April 12 and remember how she got her name. Once, long ago, human beings looked up at her and noticed the flowers at their feet. “We will call her pink moon,” they said. The pattern was set. Every April when the wild pink phlox bloomed and the full moon returned, they remembered her name.
I find peace in these patterns.
Do you?
Photo credit Korean Spice verbena: Wikipedia
Photo credit pink phlox: Creative commons attribution, share alike 3.0.