Creatorship

Ooops! (part II)

I'm reading Peter Senge's book, The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable  World."  I'm gaining new insight into how difficult it is for us to see systems.

Take my last Butterfly Weed post. When I saw the bugs and eaten leaves, my feeling was panic, my thought was "I have to stop this now!!!"  even if it means killing something.

In reading these words, I can see how on a grander scale, that reaction can turn into war. I am not yet conditioned to stop and remember this is a system and that I am a contributing part of it. That there are needs being met here I may not understand.

"Seeing systems and understanding our role in shaping those systems are two sides of the same coin. It is easy to acknowledge this philosophically, it is far more difficult to see how this connection occurs in practice." from The Necessary Revolution, p. 169.

In the simple Butterfly Weed example, if I had remembered that this is a system, I might have first asked "What else might be going on?"  "How do I intervene in a way that is a benefit to the whole system?"

In "Googling" it and in talking to the resource person at the Prairie Nursery (unfortunately after the fact), I learned that the Butterfly Weed is not just a pretty, low maintenance (my needs) prairie plant but an essential part of the Monarch Butterfly's life cycle (the needs of nature). I'm beginning to see I could expand my thinking from "MY yard for MY use and pleasure" to this is a  piece of land intended to support both my needs and that of the creatures that depend on it.  It needs to be a win-win to be sustainable long term.

I might think of my yard as a piece of an eco-system that I'm steward of. One that I'm a part of and that I live in relationship with. But what would that really mean?

What would I have done differently? Well, I would have talked with others first. 

"Seeing systems is a team sport ..." The Necessary Revolution, p,217.

We don't know what we don't know. We can get overwhelmed by the complexity. Talking with others who might have different information, experience, or perspective can help us broaden our understanding of the system, begin to identify the inter-dependencies that exist between nature, the environment, and the needs of people in the situation.  It is in relationship with others that it is possible to shift our thinking and develop new possibilities for action.

So what would I have done differently? Instead of grabbing the Sevin insecticide which killed not only the red spots (aphids it turns out), it also created a lot of collateral damage (killed all the bugs in the area good and harmful), I would have gone for a more specific, benign solution: soapy water. And, of course, I wouldn't have squished the worms.

Shifting my thinking can shift what's possible in the world. 

"...the thing you see in the outer [world] is the precipitation on the physical plane of a mental equivalent held by one or more people."  from  The Mental Equivalent by Emmet Fox.

I'll continue to look for how my thinking reflects in the world. Am I part of creating a world of peace, harmony, and sustainability or am I unconsciously supporting one of fear, fragmentation, and environmental degradation.  Creating Works! either way.

Ooops!

I didn't know enough, so when I saw the red spots under the leaves and then the leaves being eaten, I sprang into action. I mixed up the Sevin and sprayed. Later on I pulled off the what I thought were the offending worms. OOOPS!

These were Butterfly Weed plants. I didn't know that the red spots were unrelated to the worms.
I didn't know enough about the the life cycle of the Monarch Butterflies that fed on the plants to know they actually laid their eggs on the underside of the leaves (little white ones). The resulting worms do feed on the leaves. But the leaves come back as the worms leave and find a place to turn into a chrysalis, and later a butterfly.  A perfect system.

In a small way, this reminded me again of how good intentions don't offset the effects of our actions. It reminded me that understanding the way a given system works before you intervene is important. (I could have Googled first.)  It also reminded me we can learn... even in our backyards!

There will be more worms next year, but this year I'll remember the worms that won't become Monarchs. Not to be hard on myself but  to remind myself we live in systems and that our actions matter. The conservation and green movements are testimony to our collective desire to learn about and protect the world around us.  To error is indeed human...but to learn and appreciate, that is Divine.

(click on http://bes2.typepad.com/ to comment)

Seeing ourselves as part of the system #1

A friend of mine was updating us on the start of their new adventure. She writes:

"After the requisite stop at Starbucks and filling the tires to Obama-specified pressure, we hit the road about 8:40 for our six week Lewis & Clark Expedition."

Since I believe what we do matters, paying attention to how we expend energy, as well as how we can save it, makes sense. We are part of the system not an objective observer and here is a simple thing we can do.

"Last week, at a town hall meeting, Sen. Barack Obama was asked about his energy plans. He detailed his $15 billion proposal, but was asked what an individual could do. He suggested that everyone do one of the most basic pieces of maintenance that all too often goes unnoticed. He suggested that the questioner fill her tires to the recommended pressure."  Ron Zucker, Legislative Director, 2020 Vision

What is the Obama-specified pressure?  Check your car owner's manual for the correct pressure. Of course the next question is, how do you remember to check it?  Well, 2020 Vision has a solution. You can sign up for a free email that comes every two weeks that reminds you to do just that.  Need a tire gauge?  Click here to order while supplies last.

PHOTO: from the Library of Congress. It was taken Feb., 1943.  "War production workers at the Heil Company making gasoline trailer tanks for the U.S. Army Air Corps., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mrs. Angeline Kwint, age 45, an ex-housewife, checking the tires of trailers. Her husband and son are in the U.S. Army (LOC)"

Seeing the System

It's hard to feel connected at times, to see the impact of my one small
seemingly insignificant action.

Paper or Plastic (or why not cloth?)  Bottled water or or a reusable Sigg container? Does it really matter?

We are so immersed in our consumer society we don't see, can't see how huge an impact we have. Even when we do, what is the alternative?

I don't have an easy answer. I know that the first step is growing my awareness, feeling my connection to the whole. Knowing my actions are not in isolation. Knowing I am part of a greater Whole.

Chris Jordan uses art to awaken us to the fact we are not alone. I can no longer pretend it is just me doing something.

Check out his website for some astonishing facts and visuals [scroll down for the picutres].  And let yourself know that if our choices can create these pictures, we can, with our choices create a different one.

I shop therefore I am?

These past seven years have raised serious questions about who we are as a people and country. What are our core values? How do we treat others in the world? How responsible our we with our wealth and the amazing abundance in this country. How dependent have we become on superficial symbols of our well-being?

A friend of mine, Ken Hazlin sent this information to me. Annie Leonard wrote a video piece about "stuff" that tracks its production, use and disposal. It is one of the best I've seen in mapping a complex system.  Like "The Secret" some things are stated simplistically to make a point. Also, it has a bit of the "these are the bad guys" flavor to it that I don't find helpful. Reality is always a bit more complex. Everyone has a role in perpetuating the system (like me and you), even those that appear to be victims. However, the video is well researched and it is thought provoking.

I'm not a "shop 'til you drop" kind of person but it's impossible not to be affected by the "more is better" culture we live in.

So if you haven't seen it, use 20 minutes of your time and watch it. Hang in there until you hit the "consumer" section which I found particularly disturbing. [Click here]

In the end there is only ONE BIG SYSTEM and what I do really does matter. So I ask myself questions:

• How often have I thrown something away (or given it to Goodwill so it feels better) that was still good? and more importantly, why?
• How much do I have invested in my life style vs. life?
• Recently I met a young college-aged girl who talked about her friends finding meaning in buying things. "What kind of meaning?" I wondered.  But then, I have to ask what takes me away from what is truly important? Distraction comes in many forms, including "doing stuff" not just buying it.

What to think about this more? Want to do something? Go to Annie's Resource page and you can find a fact sheet, a list of her references, and suggestions on how to change your life style.

Tending the system: caring for the whole

My friend and colleague, Deb Call asked for another example of "tending the system." A system can refer to the internal subsystems of an organization (people, structures, departments, teams) or to the web of systems an organization interacts with. "Tending the system" can take many forms as long as you are paying attention to, and caring for the system as a whole. It can look like: ensuring clarity of  purpose (internal), monitoring for unintended consequences of decisions, encouraging individual self-interest (individuals are systems with their own purpose), assessing your impact on communities, or promoting sustainability. The following are two sustainability examples.

The first sustainability example was profiled in Fast Company. Mike Brown (former VP of Sustainability at Patgonia) and Eric Wilmanns of Brown & Wilmanns Environmental are in the process of evaluating various raw material possibilities for Nike.

"...from their origin in the ground as a petroleum product, or an agricultural or forest product," says Brown "all the way through getting shipped to the factory to be turned into a product and then at the end of the life of the product, what happens then."  from Fast Company, November, 2007

Notice they are looking at the impact of removing a particular material on the environment, the distribution systems involved, the processing of the material and then all the way to how the finished product would be recycled. This is tending the whole system.

Mike also understands a company is comprised of subsystems (people, departments, teams) and that tending the system requires tending relationships as well.

"Deriving a solution is one thing...But implementing the solution in the political context of a corporation-that's something else. [Mike's] always trying to make sure you have the folks on board that you're going to need downstream on a project." from Fast Company, November, 2007. 

The second sustainability example is also about tending relationships as well as systems. It comes from Nao who is tending the system by educating their buyers (potentially you and me) to tend the system. Often a shipping decision is only matter of personal convenience or cost. Nau points out the environment impact of the buyer's choice. Not only is Nau tending the system, they are building a relationship with their buyers around mutual concern for the environment.

Once you understand the nature of systems and how they can impact both your success and well-being, you start to pay attention. You learn to see systems and it will change your view of the world forever.

Each grain of rice counts

Tending the system is a characteristic of creatorship. It requires paying attention to the well-being of the whole. In our complex world that is not an easy thing to do. Even when you are aware of the needs of others, it is not always clear what you can do.

But being aware has its value. It is the root of compassion for yourself and others. Awareness allows you to be open to new and unexpected possibilities. In the words of hugh macleod "compassion keeps you fluid."

For example, here is a totally delightful way to help relieve hunger and improve literacy (yours <grin>). Click on FreeRice and enjoy contributing while you check out your vocabulary.

How do you decide?

                                             QUESTIONS

•          are we alone or are we connected
•     by unseen threadsin the quantum field
•   by membership in systems unrecognized
•             do our decisions circle back
• surprising us with unintended consequences
•           is our independence an illusion
•                                         bes 7.26.06

When you consider buying organic food, how do you make your decision?

• price
• quality
• whether you are going to eat the skin ( a la the Wall Street Journal article "When Buying Organic Makes Sense" Jan 29, 2007)
• personal or family health concerns
• whether it is certified as organic  (do you trust it to be organic)

Such criteria make sense when you are considering yourself or your family. But what if you think about yourself as part of a larger system?

WHY? Because we are just beginning to learn how much we are connected:

At the quantum level, we share in an energy soup that appears to cross the boundaries of space and time.

At the biological level, we exist as a sub-system, dependent on larger systems for survival and well-being, e.g., families, communities, eco-systems....

Unintended consequences might just be code for "We don't understand the system."

Learning to think systemically about life is a skill to be learned. For example, taking into consideration the complex food production system, additional criteria to those listed above enter into deciding whether or not to buy organic, e.g, --

• the harm done to farm ecosystems from pesticide run-off
• downstream water pollution
• farm worker health: pesticide exposure correlates with workers' higher rates of certain cancers and birth defects
• the social burden of resulting health care costs and environmental degradation by pesticides
• the damage insects do to crops
• the value of buying locally grown produce  whether or not it is organic

The important thing for me is to expand my thinking to include the system as a whole; to appreciate that I am a part of a larger web of life and that what I do, or don't do, matters. And, as is with most things, there is no one best decision, although some are better than others.

Here's to our best decisions!

"Every time you spend money, you're casting a vote for the kind of world you want." Anna Lappe, O Magazine, June 2003