“Of all the dangers we face, from climate chaos to nuclear war, none is so great as the deadening of our response.”
– Joanna Macy
From the awe-inspiring human Joanna Macy, we learn that to respond, we must relate. Consequently, we need to think about our relationships.
Relationships are made up of each part co-creating a whole. We have learned that a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In a social relationship system, then, every individual´s make-up of energy, emotions, thoughts, words, actions, and more, comprise that messy whole. So, if you took a quick stock, which relationship systems are you a part of?
Your relationship with yourself is worth considering as well; you are a whole too! Consider this; our bodies are made up of over thirty trillion cells constantly interacting with each other. In turn, different autonomous bodily systems in intrinsic collaboration, made up of all these cells, function perfectly without any will of ours!
In addition, there are such things as an epigenetic field, mysterious, invisible energetic bodies, a soul, or higher-self, a past-, present, and a future-self; perhaps a quantum version of ourselves beyond time and space? (It´s OK if your take on this is different than mine, I don´t fully claim anything, just very curious).
So, we are in a relationship just by inhabiting a physical body that, by and of itself, runs on deep relationships without much effort. But, further, we can choose to be in a relationship with all living things! How would that feel? I wonder if being in relationships is the core human feature that matters greatly – perhaps more than ever?
Actively learning more about how to successfully engage in the relationships we are a part of can be the core of systems coaching. The implications of actively engaging in relationships are effects such as less tension, conflicts, and `deadening of response.´ In addition, we gain learning to read the system, articulate one´s needs, meet other´s needs, and contribute to necessary change, and more.
How we choose to interact in our relationships with ourselves and with others matters a great deal! Curious to learn more? Please read more about relationship systems coaching here.
Images on these pages are mathematics made beautiful!
Fractals are endlessly fascinating to me; a growth pattern found in us, and around us.
“A fractal is an endlessly repeating natural pattern that is maintained throughout the universe regardless of scale. The hologenetic manifestation of light as it enters the material world and illuminates its true nature” Source: The Gene Keys, Richard Rudd (2015).