Metamorphosis

I've come to an interesting thought.

A system with directionality that strives to maintain itself while going through endless stages of metamorphosis is living and life-like.
Simpler, non-living systems either goes through metamorphosis even at devastatingly destructive cost, or doesn't go through any sort of notable metamorphosis at all. Perhaps these differences can be attributed to the differences between chaotic, complex, and ordered systems in purely physical terms.

The source of the thought? Other than my endless curiosity about the origin of life-like systems and their processes, I'd say the direct inspiration came from Philip Glass' Metamorphosis, the solemn and elegant notes combining to form an aural equivalent of a light's reflection of a giant lens.