Form

Form is constraint. If everything is, by nature, chaotic and haphazard, then any attempt to constrain it is form. In this case, however, constraint is not a bad thing. To properly communicate chaos, that is, to present it in a way that others are able to register and understand it, form is key. It is to toss chaos through a pre-assigned filter. The rules are there and we know them. It can be difficult to toss our chaos through the filter, kind of a wood chipper exercise that is both cathartic and heart-breaking. But in the end, there is form.

Form is a social construct. We need to communicate with one another to fill some void within ourselves and form gives us one of the tools needed to do that. In the end, this conformity can strip away some of the message we intended to give. The idea in my head is never perfectly the idea that ends up on paper; something is lost in the translation. But if the idea remains only in my head, it is unable to grow, to bounce off other ideas, to inspire others in any form or to stir the emotions it has stirred in me. This is a social norm that is necessary. Without it, we are many. With it, we can become one.