Entropy
Cherish the Transitory
It’s been a hard couple of weeks as I have battled to recover from a wicked illness. During my struggle in the darkness of sickness, I thought about entropy whereby things wear out and break down. For this issue of Mystery’s Voice, I focus on cherishing the transitory in the face of entropy.
Note: This is a picture of Shadbush taken at Mystery Acres in the spring of 2021.
My Mysterious Mind
In recent weeks, especially in the decline and loss of Ollie, I’ve been pondering entropy. When he died I said, “I hate death.” That’s not the whole story; it’s entropy I actually hate. Everything everywhere is always deteriorating. In the morning, our bodies are a day older, our stuff is a day closer to breaking down, and a tiny layer of dust has been added on all surfaces, consisting largely of dead cells from our bodies and all other decaying organics.
We love when something is new. There is excitement when an item is sealed in its original packaging, which, upon opening, makes us the first to enjoy the contents. We love the way new cars smell, so much so we buy air fresheners to recreate the illusion of newness. We love new; we hate used. But what we really hate is entropy, the relentless deterioration of all things. It’s depressing to think about really, so we try not to. Instead, we fight to “stay young.” We follow maintenance schedules to preserve our vehicles, all while really just fighting entropy. Everything is wearing down and whatever is neglected is wearing down faster.
A popular recommendation about how to fight the entropy of aging is “use it or lose it.” Yes, we can delay deterioration through fitness and good self-care. But aging is inevitable. Even those who “use it,” meaning their bodies, will still “lose it” in time. Even the most well-renowned fitness masters eventually succumb to the built-in entropy of the decaying human organism.
An occupied, well-maintained home, fares better than an abandoned one. The servants of entropy known as mold and termites are always on-the-ready to hasten the decay. Dry rot and temperature shifts also work their silent destruction on our man-made accomplishments. My husband and I have had numerous grill covers deteriorate just because of exposure to the elements, from which they were protecting the grill. Entropy is relentless and pervasive.
When we adopted Ollie in February of 2022 he was already old. He had been our daughter’s dog since he was very young. I had loved him more than most dogs in my life. There was an “old soul” quality to him, one that resonated with the “old soul” in me. He always seemed to understand things beyond a normal dog. I would thank him for taking care of my daughter when I arrived for a visit, and I would repeat my request to take care of my daughter at every departure. He seemed to know what I was saying. When our first grandson arrived, Ollie’s anxiety increased. He started scratching holes into the carpet outside of the nursery door. I suggested we put a rug there on which he could sleep, suspecting he was keeping watch on the “new puppy.” This helped him for a while, but he became even more anxious as one little boy became two.
So, we adopted Ollie and he came to live with us in our quiet home with big backyard. I sensed he missed his “little boy puppies,” but he was otherwise very happy with us. I often told him, “I am glad you are here with us.” He got to see the little boys a few times when they visited us or we took him to visit them. Yes, he was already old when he came to stay with us but we believe it was a great senior living gig for him. I knew we would one day have to say “good-bye” to him, a day I tried not to think about. We’ve had many dogs, and the entropy of aging takes them all.
Message of Mystery Acres
Entropy is a normal part of the forest and it doesn’t bother me there. Wildflowers blooming one week are likely gone by the next. The Shadbush is especially fragile, precious, and transitory. The white petals of the Shadbush blossom look like clusters of white tissue paper blowing gently in the early spring breeze. Their blooming is so brief I don’t always catch it, depending upon the timing of my visits to Mystery Acres. The picture in this issue was taken in 2021, the most recent sighting of the Shadbush blooming. I don’t lament missing its blooming; I just cherish all the more when I catch it.
Everything in the forest is in some stage of its life cycle, with the eventual stage of final decline on the horizon. Each day will decay, giving way to night. Trees grow, age, and die; their decaying remains provide homes for critters and fertilizer for the growth of other plants. Even the stars whose light I see now might already be gone. Beautiful grasses that line the path are there for today’s journey, with a guarantee of their ultimate demise. Entropy in the forest doesn’t trouble me. I expect it as part of all things.
The message of Mystery Acres is that everything is passing by on its way to the exit. This draining of today’s life force isn’t meant to drain today’s joy. Instead, the transitory nature of all things is the source of profound joy in today’s treasures. Mystery Acres calls us to cherish the transitory beauty on today’s path, as that beauty may be gone tomorrow, replaced by something else. And, if not gone tomorrow, its exit will be one day closer.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“His mercies are new every morning.” (See Lamentations 3:23)
Lamentations is an intriguing ancient text written by a prophet named Jeremiah approximately 582 B.C. Much of the text is pretty depressing, describing several rounds of Jewish deportation to Babylon. As the prophet for the Jewish people, Jeremiah foreknew the tragedy ahead. His love for the people, combined with his knowledge over their dismal future, was a source of tremendous anguish for him. He knew their freedom was experiencing catastrophic entropy and would soon end with their captivity. Yet, in the midst of this horrific unraveling, he knew something that was not subject to entropy.
Jeremiah experienced a fresh supply of new mercy every morning to help him endure the suffering he would also know. This source of mercy never disappeared completely for this suffering prophet. He was tapped into something that was inexhaustible.
This reminds me of Psalm 136 with its recurrent phrase of “His love endures forever.” My family has long-used a section of this Psalm as a closing prayer for meal-times: “O, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
As I contemplate the entropy of the world around me, I am comforted by these words of Ancient Mystery. The “everything, everywhere is always deteriorating” principle of entropy doesn’t actually apply to everything. Mercy is in a fresh supply every morning to those who seek it. And the love of the Lord of all Mystery endures without deterioration.
Living in Mystery
This is supposed to be an inspirational message, so what does it mean to live in the mystery of entropy in such a way that life is better? Living in the mystery of entropy means accepting the transitory nature of today and all it contains. Paying attention to what matters today is important because it could be gone tomorrow.
Living in the mystery of entropy means realizing that maintenance is needed to preserve what is transitory. Maintenance requires time and energy, both of which are in limited supply. What matters most? Fight entropy in the areas of life aligned with your highest priorities. Neglect what matters and entropy will have its way more rapidly.
I am reminded of a commercial about dental care that included the phrase, “Ignore your teeth and they’ll go away.” Tooth decay needs daily fighting to keep its en-tropic effects at bay. The same could be said of many parts of our lives.
Relationships are vulnerable to entropy. Most marriages don’t die from abuse; they die from neglect. If a relationship matters, its maintenance requires time and energy to fight the decay of entropy. We need to fight for the relationships we want to keep.
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to invest in your relationship with your partner. Raising children together takes a heavy toll on even the most well-adjusted adults. And it requires years and years of exhausting effort. Just when the parents are about ready to launch the children comes the hardest years of parenting, the teenage years. Too many couples find their relationship in tatters from the wear-and-tear of parenting. A wise maintenance schedule for a marriage includes regular “tune-ups” to fight the entropy of raising children.
Living in the mystery of entropy also means acceptance of inevitable decay. Newness cannot be maintained. Things wear out and break down; the more things you own the more things you will have that wear out and break down. It’s just the way of entropy. I remember getting a door ding during my first outing with my “new” car. I was disappointed, but shrugged and said, “it was bound to happen eventually.” Also, in the first weeks of ownership, a crazy driver almost side-swiped me in the rain, causing me to take the curb onto the sidewalk to avoid getting hit. The wheels got scuffed by the curb. I had a “to do” list item for years to get them repaired. By default, I decided to leave the scuffs. Others have been added since then. I decided it isn’t worth the effort to maintain a damage-free car. I prioritize fighting entropy by caring for the engine and tires.
Entropy is always working in our lives. We can’t stop it, only delay its deterioration in the aspects that matter most to us. Our bodies are experiencing entropy; healthy inputs, maintenance check-ups, and physical activity fight entropy’s damage. Relationships gradually deteriorate from neglect; investing time and energy in the people we love preserves and strengthens our connections. Our stuff is wearing out and prone to breaking down; living in acceptance of that will align our expectations and lower our stress.
In the face of the relentless drain of entropy, a limitless reservoir of mercy and love is available each day. This divine resource is often overlooked, leaving the entropy-plagued human feeling despair. Yes, everything everywhere is deteriorating, but only the temporal. The spiritual is not subject to entropy. We need only to open ourselves to receive daily renewal from a vast supply.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, the entropy of this life is relentless and discouraging sometimes. Help me to prioritize what matters most, investing my time and energy in fighting entropy in important relationships. My stuff is continuously wearing out and breaking down; help me to accept this as the normal wear and tear of all things temporal. Thank You for offering mercy and love to me; help me to receive Your unlimited, imperishable supply. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
A special thanks to my readers who sent messages of comfort after reading Surrounded. Thank you for your words of love and encouragement. I appreciate you!
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I encourage you to read Psalm 136 if you are struggling with entropy’s drain.
You can find previous posts of The Adventure of Reflection at my Substack ARCHIVE. You can find organized compilations of my weekly posts in the “My Books” section.
You can email me at drcjmacgregor@outlook.com or through the Substack App. I love to hear from you!
