Chaos Theory

If someone asked you what bothers you and why, what would your answer be?

When I was asked, I immediately blurted ‘Chaos,’ meaning too many voices going on at the same time, people muttering, my feeble attempts to multi-task, multiple questions demanding to be answered but not worth my brain’s involvement.

Those things pile on, cover me, and suffocate me in chaos.

I’m clearly aware part of my frustration is because I can’t hear my own breath. That missing sense has a lot to do with it, but that’s not all that is creating my aversion to ‘too much.’ And I wonder if the other contributing factor to why chaos drives me nuts is a touch of wisdom has seeped into crevices in my mind cavity.

Have I become less tolerant of distractions, my focus wanting to be pinpointed and unobstructed? Maybe knowing I am nearing my last lap around the track I’m driven to accomplish my specific goals or finish what I view as an important project.

Because we seldom talk or listen to our elders, we are unprepared for the realization time is limited. I didn’t ask my grandparents or my parents if they still had unfulfilled desires. Did they dismiss the need to trek up mountains since they had seen the view before? Or were they wise enough to know breaking a hip wasn’t worth the climb or making all the arrangements for such a hike wasn’t something they enjoyed anymore?

I want to be part of what is going on, but my interest wanes if too many opinions mess up my plan or delay it’s completion.

Someone sitting next to me as they answered the question about what bothered them, looked at me with a sidelong glance, and stated, “What bothers me is a person who won’t wear their hearing aids in order to hear better.”

Not understanding all she said I did get the word ‘hearing’ and reached up to check on the volume of the aids I was not wearing.

Yep, I was hearing aids-less, and I hadn’t heard what most folks had said, but apparently the person who subtly pointed out my neglect to fully dress (sans hearing helpers), felt the need to suggest a better solution for my ‘bother’ dilemma.

I realized chaos is not the only thing that tops my list of bothersome things: it is also people who don’t like hearing ‘huh?’

One person’s bothersome solution, pushes another person’s bothersome button.