Complexity is the word, indeed!!!
While from its beginning, the universe hasn't stopped degrading, life hasn't stopped getting more and more complex.

The paradox commes from thermodynamics. The internal energy of an isolated system can only degrade itself.
However, degrading means transforming itself. It doesn't always mean loss of energy.
Laws of physics impose a progressive disorganisation of the universe, so why is there life? It seems not natural at all.
But organisation and complexity are two very different non-antagonistic concepts, that can simultaneously express themselves in a system, without violating any physical law. Molecules can become complex while the universe is degrading its energy...Even if the universe were thermically dead, its matter could still gain in complexity.
(Raoul, translating ans summarizing a complex text)