There is an ever-present tension between two natural forces of change (Holman, 2009):

• a drive for coherence -- for relationship, unity, community, wholeness – a coming together. Similar to atoms forming molecules, people join into communities, or long for contributing to something larger than ourselves.

• a drive for differentiation -- individuality, distinction, uniqueness – a breaking apart. Similar to teenagers separating from parents to find their identity, we long to be accepted just as we are.

Together these forces form a system for engaging emergence. Every designer works
with change and emergence in different ways. Three patterns support us during the chaotic process of emergence(Holman, 2009):

• Engaging: taking responsibility for what we love as an act of service.
• Listening: sensing broadly and deeply, witnessing with self-discipline.
• Connecting: being with difference while finding common bonds.

Ultimately,in order to make sense of emergent change we also need to get involved in the following acts (Holman, 2009):

• Reflecting: sensing patterns, making meaning by naming what is ripening on behalf of the whole

• Harvesting: sharing the stories through multiple modes and channels

• Iterating: doing it again and again, integrating what we know into what’s novel.

According to Holman (2009), these patterns help us shift from working with emergence to invoking it on behalf of the system:

• Tuning in: being centered - calm in the storm and just enough storm in the calm.
• Focusing intentions: seeking meaningful futures, open to outcomes.
• Setting context: mindfully establishing initial conditions.

In this way, we can establish a framework to make sense of the forces at play when we are facing change in a chaotic world. We can also have some insight into how to work with those forces, even take initiative to serve intentions that matter to us, those we care about, and the systems of which we are all a part.