Emergence: The Way Everything Grows
Oct 30, 2024
“Wherever you are beginning, take a deep breath and notice how you are feeling in your body, and how the world around you feels. Take a breath for the day you have had so far. And a breath for this precious moment, which cannot be recreated. Now, another for the day and night coming.”
I just started reading a book called ‘Emergent Strategy’ by Adrienne Maree Brown and this was her opening couple sentences. I loved being reminded to breathe. Doesn’t it feel good? It’s so lovely to be reminded to feel my body and breath. Even though we are breathing continually without thinking about it, there’s something special about consciously breathing.
I want to share a little bit about the idea of Emergence that I have been learning.
“Emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions.”
-Nick Obolensky.
It feels like yet another way to talk about what we sometimes talk about as Universal MIND or Life Force, The Tao,our Spiritual nature, even whales migrating, spiders spinning webs, trees communicating; life living us…
I always like to hear how others talk about this and relate to it and describe it. The energy of all things. Emergence also speaks to the constant change, and evolution of life, reminding us that we can learn so much from nature if we simply take the time to observe and listen. In our often fast-paced or distracted lives, slowing down can reveal profound insights about how things are meant to grow and evolve.
For me, there’s echoes of “row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream…”
Letting go is something that nature shows us so beautifully. As I watch the trees outside my window transform, their leaves changing color and eventually falling, I'm reminded of nature's flawless cycle of renewal. The trees don't cling to their leaves out of fear or scarcity; they simply release them, knowing this process is essential for next year's growth.
This natural rhythm offers such a powerful metaphor for personal growth and change, showing us how letting go of the old is necessary to make room for the new, without resistance or anxiety. It's a continuous, effortless process in nature, inviting us to approach our own transformations with similar grace and trust. Not always easy, I know.
Another key aspect of emergence is the collaborative and adaptive nature of ecosystems. This principle of interconnectedness and mutual support is beautifully demonstrated in nature, yet often overlooked in modern human societies, particularly in cultures, like here, that emphasize individualism and self-reliance.
I remember being so shocked when I first arrived in Portland, which, to me, vividly illustrates this disconnect. I encountered a man in severe distress on a street corner, clearly struggling with mental health issues. His vulnerability and isolation were shocking to me, as was the lack of immediate support systems. I didn’t know who to call or what to do. This incident, etched in my memory even nine years later, sparked a desire to be part of a more collaborative and supportive community.
Nature's approach, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, offers a powerful model for human societies. It demonstrates how interconnected systems can create resilience and support for all members. This idea of working together and supporting each other really speaks to my heart, and it's what drives me to help build stronger, more caring communities where everyone can thrive.
Something else the author Brown writes about, which I’ve been exploring separately is sacred geometry and fractals and how patterns repeat themselves in nature over and over again. “The micro reflects the macro and vice versa - Fibonacci patterns show up from space to cauliflower. The tiniest, most mundane act reflects the biggest reactions we can imagine. ” Kat Aaron.
“Turn to the prevalence of spirals in the universe - the shape in the prints of our fingertips echoes into geological galaxies. Then notice the planet is full of these fractals -cauliflower yes, and broccoli, ferns, deltas, veins through our bodies, tributaries etc. all of these are echoes of themselves at the smallest and the largest scales. ”
-Adrienne Maree Brown
These repeating patterns in nature really highlight how everything is connected, from the tiniest cells to the vastness of the universe. They show us that simple rules, repeated over and over, create the amazing and intricate structures we see all around us—and even within ourselves.