While writing through one of my notes I hit a stumbling block. I didn’t know how to progress with a note.
The note in question was this one - a commentary on Steph Ango’s vault:
# Structure Can Be Found in Chaos
As a people, we have somehow come to assume that order is always the correct way to proceed. But, is that always true?
Lets take the example of Kepano's(Steph Ango) Obsidian vault. At first glance, looking at Kepano's vault it feel disorganised and chaotic. However, as you read through how he make's use of his vault, you start to notice something. Something quite interesting.
What seems like chaos to an outside viewer, is a system. A system he has crafted with purpose
So I stepped away from it for a while.
Then an idea came to me as I was watching the second season of The Sandman (I have read the comics before).
What if the siblings could be used a vehicles for note processing?
Then I want concepting. I went over four iterations of the idea before I landed on something that made sense. I won’t bore you with the details that whole process. In summary, it was taking what they represent and using it in the context of a note.
But first…
Who Are The Endless?
They are anthropomorphic representations of the powerful natural forces they embody. Namely:
- Destiny
- Death
- Dream
- Destruction
- Desire
- Despair
- Delirium
How do they translate?
Destiny
Destiny is to do with what is already determined. This is where meaning is anchored. Here I ask:
- What is the larger idea?
- What constraints shape this note?
Death
Death deals with ends and beginnings. This is where the idea is distilled. I ask:
- What remains if everything else is removed
- What isn’t useful anymore here?
Dream
This is the exploration phase, where the idea becomes more than what it started as. I ask:
- What is this idea trying to say?
- What could this become, unconstrained?
Destruction
Here I deconstruct and dismantle. This is where I flip the note on itself. I ask:
- What assumptions does this rely on?
- How would this look if inverted or dismantled
Desire
This is about why the idea matters, why I am drawn to it. I ask:
- Why am I drawn to this idea?
- What do I want the note to do ?
Despair
This is where the note breaks down. What I might not know, where I could be mistaken .I ask:
- What don’t I know?
- Where does this feel weak?
Delirium
This is where connections appear unexpectedly. What the idea reminds me of. Where I follow tangents, and link unrelated notes. I ask:
- What does this irrationally remind me of?
- What unrelated ideas collide here?
- If logic is suspended, what emerges?
How I Use Them
The first and foremost thing is to write, unfiltered, get all of it down. In most instances this is enough. I don’t always need the siblings. It is when I reach a friction point that I introduce them. They are not subheading, they are not sections, they are helping me look at what I am writing from a different perspective.
I add this comment to the bottom of the note that’s giving me trouble as reference and explore different pathways.
<!-- 📜Destiny: context, lineage, constraints may emerge here -->
<!-- 🌑 Dream: meaning, metaphor, implication -->
<!-- 🔥 Desire: why this matters to me -->
<!-- 🌀 Delirium: strange links, sideways thoughts -->
<!-- ⚒ Destruction: doubt, inversion, dismantling -->
<!-- ⚠ Despair: gaps, weaknesses, unanswered questions -->
<!-- ⚰️ Death: distillation, closure, or release -->
I don’t need all the siblings, 3 at most and that gets me out of my slump.
Back To The Original Note
When I had gotten the framework down, I brought into my the note. I took it through the lens of Destiny and Dream, which lead to likening Kepano’s vault to a forest where everything looks messy, but there is a complex system working underneath it all.
This still didn’t feel right so I took the opposite look of Destruction and Despair, which revealed that abundance doesn’t always equate meaning. And how the system is only useful as long as Kepano can navigate it seamlessly.
After all that I need to tie it all together, Death came into play and I concluded that order - what we call order - is not universal. And that how a system looks is less important compared to how easily information can be resurfaced.
Doing it this way, I ended up with 3 additional notes that connect to this initial idea:
- Chaos is like a forest
- Chaos can become a graveyard
- Order is an act of retrieval
Lastly while reading through the note, Delirium came into play and I found connection to several other notes in my vault.
This is an instance where I manged to make use of all the siblings by asking, what if… This isn’t always the case. As I said, 3 siblings at most are more than enough. And only in instances when you are stumped on how to continue a note and feel it’s not quite ready.
It is a perfect example of how having the siblings as a subtle guide can expand on an idea.