Nature Teaches
By Les Mottosky
No organism argues with it's conditions. It either responds or it disappears.
But humans do. Same with the pets that are conditioned by our lifestyle. Designer dog collars, luxe $1,500 dog beds and even puppy-strollers are extensions of our human beef with reality. Dogs need food, a little training and love. Some people project their addiction to luxury and status (neither of which exist in Nature) onto them.
If a skiff of snow appears overnight, you won't see a feral mutt rocking a plaid jacket with matching booties.
More than a signal of our comfort-addicted society, the pet luxury market is also a warning that expansion without constraint eventually collapses. This is true in Nature (with cells, species, and ecosystems) but it's also true with companies, economies and governments. Domination is not a guiding principle of the universe. Growth is, but oppression isn't.
And Nature abides by this standard.
So why don't we? What is it about us where we think we know better than the power that produced us? Arguing with reality is a proxy spat with our Creator.
Who likes their chances against The One?
In most cases these disputes with reality aren't fatal. We whine about weather, sneer at systems, complain about customers and wrestle with disappointing results. This doesn't stop us from continuing, but it eats away at our quality of life. And the lives of those around us. (If we complain loud and long enough, we become the reality others debate, and eventually, avoid.)
What the above observations overlook is that we're actually resisting ourselves. It's a form of self-gaslighting. Resisting what is, is an internal battle. And the concepts that begin in our head, spill-over into our experience as frustration, misery and resignation.
If we don't give energy to such notions, they can't have a larger impact.
We may not feel like we have any power over the thoughts that pop into our heads, but we always maintain the agency to believe them. When a complaint arises, we can – and should – acknowledge it with just enough kindness to notice it. That's all it needs. Thoughts want their chance to live, too. But we decide their lifespan. It's when we fuel and sustain them that we join the debate against reality.
This awareness is a form of self-compassion. And it leads to a smoother, friendlier life.
This isn't a new idea, but an old one that's been ignored or forgotten. About 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Seneca famously admitted: "What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself."
Befriending our own mind begins with the way we speak – and listen – to ourselves.
Here's how to start: we're living life when the thought comes. We notice it, say something like 'Aren't you cute?' then continue. We don't need to comply to the thought's demand. Just notice it, look at it and move along.
This can be challenging to learn, but it isn't magic. (The results feel like it, though).
When we train this response into ourselves, we re-align with Nature – our own as well as the greater reality that sustains all of us.
And that's when we've cultivated the power to walk away from the debate.
TAGS: #Nature Teaches
Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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