Applying the Ecological Mind: Small to Big

Our ecology is a complex network, it is networks of networks and is comprised of actions that each appear to have little to no impact in creating global changes. Small changes can has a huge impact in our lives and is an idea developed and used by chaos theory to describe how seemingly small variations in initial conditions can produce drastically different outcomes over time. Small to large is the theme and is an important idea to developing mindfulness as it shows how each one of us is an integral piece in the global ecology.

Small to Big and Back Again

Small things can influence the environment at large in many ways. An example taken from inside our bodies are hormones. Hormones are small molecules or proteins that can affect global changes within organisms. When compared to many other biologically active molecules, the number of hormone molecules able to elicit a response is infinitesimal when compared to the number of molecules required for many other drugs to have action. This ability to elicit large scale changes from a small amount of signal is due to the fact that hormones belong to a class of molecules that signal for genes to become active. This activity means that a single hormone molecule may create thousands of mRNA transcripts (RNA that codes for proteins) and each of those transcripts can be translated into thousands of individual proteins. These effects are critical for regulating essential functions in our bodies with disruption in any of these pathways resulting in the loss of critical signaling and sensing capabilities. At the level of the organism these signals coalesce to create our mood, our sense of well being, energy level, alertness, libido and even our perception of time and space itself. These small numbers of molecules while almost undetectable within any individual cell (besides those that produce them) create the world around us by coloring our perception. When our hormones are dysregulated we suffer from disease and depression and our view of the world is altered in a negative way. Whereas when we operate at full potential the world seems vibrant and alive, we walk with a smile on our face and song in our hearts, unaware that our bodies are doing the things that they were meant to do. It is all too common for disease to be the normal state that we live our in, causing us to seek out ways to affect our mood with stimulants, sugar, pharmaceuticals, sex or anything else that artificially brings our systems temporarily closer to a semblance of health. Keeping in mind that little interactions are actually shaping the world we live in is where the ecological mindset can be applied to our health.

Sweating the Small Stuff

There is a notion that people that worry about the little things in life are going to be more stressed out because they are thinking about things that are really insignificant in the grand scheme of life. This may be true to some extent but the point can be made that there is no such thing as ‘small stuff’. Our life experience is ‘small stuff’ when compared to the scale of the world, the solar system, the galaxy or the universe. How small are we then? Our interaction with the barista when we go to buy our cup of coffee while brief can either be pleasant or not. This single interaction when unpleasant can change the way we interact with the next person we meet and then alter their path as well. These chains of interactions reminds me of an amusing quote, “Hitler dropped out of art school and long story short, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.”. This makes the point that no matter how ‘small’ an event or interaction is there is still unknown ramifications that can occur in the future. I would then make the argument that it is our responsibility to make our interactions as beneficial to ourselves and to each other as possible. The interactions that we have outside ourselves may be even more important as those interactions are the ones that go on to produce the largest changes in our environment. Simply smiling and being polite to strangers is a way that we all can make the place we live in safer and more hospitable. The idea of getting more kindness back than what you put out is not magical in any sense, it is pretty straightforward even. The places we spend time the most are the places that we can expect to see the greatest changes from our actions. If you were to go to school each day and be mean and ill-tempered it wouldn’t take long before the other people around you began to treat you with disdain as day after day you bring a sour face and rude commentary. On the other hand, a person that walks with a smile and friendly face will be greeted with “hellos” and “nice to see you”. This changes the world from a cruel and uncaring place to one of love and acceptance. Simply changing the way we interact with our environment can drastically alter the way that the environment interacts with us.
This idea of interactions and the repercussions of those interactions is seen in all areas of life and needs to be fostered to create a better environment for all organisms. The way that we decide to grow food, use water or energy all need to be viewed by how the actions we take now will affect our environment in the future. Seeking the most ecological outcome is always the goal since it is the way that will create the most positive outcome for the environment which envelops ourselves. The environment is our most valuable asset since all life depends on one another to create it. The way we interact with each other and the organic and inorganic material around us molds the environment. We are inescapably tied to its fate, so much so that drastic disruptions will certainly spell our doom. While the outcome of our personal interactions may be difficult to predict due to unknown variation if we become aware of our influence on starting conditions we can help to create more positive outcomes.

Some topics are so large that there seems to be no simple solution to the problem. It is the starving children in Africa conundrum, each individual is tasked with what seems to be an insurmountable problem; the world is suffering. This suffering didn’t occur overnight, it was the culmination of centuries of poor thinking and planning. Exploitation of human life and the desire for personal gain created the suffering that we see in the world today. The human race is only now becoming globally aware of inequality and the atrocities that exist in it. Our desire to help other humans is understandable and should be a goal to strive for. Starting small can help with these larger problems too. Thinking about how do I treat the people in my local environment? How do I deal with life to make to make it more equitable for others near me? These actions can have unknown consequences as people follow by example, spreading memes of kindness and caring around the globe.
Humans have placed themselves outside of the natural world in an attempt to dominate it and relieve the stressors of survival. We no longer worry about rogue wolves roaming our cities or compete with wildlife for resources. We have become something more than nature, at least that’s what we would like to believe. We have swapped our roles as part of the natural process for a more destructive role where we consume far more resources than we put back into the earth. Once humans were far more concerned with the way they interacted with nature and now we are far more concerned with what we will do this weekend for entertainment. The onus is on humans to be stewards of our earth and treat the environment the way that it deserves to be treated, as the only one we have. The environment is a fascinating organism in itself. It provides a way to move and manage resources and provides all that we need to sustain life. If catastrophe arises, the earth will correct itself to reach equilibrium with or without humans. In order to insure our survival we need to promote an environment that views humans as a valuable resource. If humans are needed to keep a system in place then the earth will reward humans with a niche to fill. If we use our niche to create calamity for other systems then the earth will correct itself to our detriment. This autocorrecting capability of the earth is why it is so important to keep systems in place that help insure human survival. These larger systems all start from the smallest systems inside ourselves. When we create a healthy human being then we can promote health in our communities and those communities can make good decisions to support good ecological practices. If we don’t put our own health as our first priority then the earth will suffer since our own healthy systems are what ultimately create the environment at large. Start small, think deliberately about how you interact with others and your own internal dialogue. Be mindful of your actions to the point where you may think you may be going crazy (that means you’re doing it right) to help foster mindfulness. This introspection and internal reflection is necessary to create a world that can survive the coming years. Over consumption, overproduction, infinite growth models, greed, corporate gain; all things that don’t fit into the ecological mindset.

Becoming aware of how small changes effect the macroscopic world is the first step to a better world, with each positive interaction we create the next.