Day 41: Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction: 1. A series of events in which each induces or influences the next. 2. Physics: A multistage nuclear reaction, especially a self-sustaining series of fissions in which the release of neutrons from the splitting of 1 atom leads to the splitting of others 3. Chemistry: A series of reactions in which one product of a reacting set is a reactant in the following set. 4.  A process in which the result of one event triggers another event, usually of the same kind, which in turn triggers yet another event, so that the overall reaction tends to be self-sustaining.


I am working on managing my emotions lately, so as to not spin un-necessarily into more and more intense feelings at any given moment.  Coming back to my breath is one of my strategies, if I can remember.  "In.  Out.  In.  Out.  Come home to the comfort and safety of my breath", I tell myself.   Certainly, there are days that one thing triggers me into sadness, or anger or any emotion that is challenging -- and I can find myself in this chain reaction -- moving faster and faster in my mind, whipping myself up into a frenzy. I even forget I am breathing.  This mandala, in its circular container, holding the spirals, with the butterfly in the middle, is my reminder to stop -- and re-think the moment, and come back to my breath, so as to not continue on an un-necessary emotional roller coaster.  

This mandala also reminds me of The Butterfly Effect: 

The butterfly effect is a term used in Chaos Theory to describe how tiny variations can affect giant systems, and complex systems, like weather patterns. The term butterfly effect was applied in Chaos Theory to suggest that the wing movements of a butterfly might have significant repercussions on wind strength and movements throughout the weather systems of the world, and theoretically, could cause tornadoes halfway around the world.  What the butterfly effect seems to posit, is that the prediction of the behavior of any large system is virtually impossible unless one could account for all tiny factors, which might have a minuteeffect on the system. Thus large systems like weather remain impossible to predict because there are too many unknown variables to count.