Heroes Not Zombies

The leaves are starting to turn and to fall. There’s a large mulberry tree in my garden. I’ve never known a mulberry tree before but one of the things which astonishes me about it most is the diversity of its leaves.

Look at this photo. I gathered up a bunch of the leaves which had fallen and laid them out in size order. Isn’t that incredible?

Diversity is a key feature of Nature. Every single living creature is unique….not necessarily in its outward appearance, but in its existence.

The more complex, more evolved a creature is, leading up to the most complex of all creatures…..human beings, the more unique each one is. Why is that? It’s all down to connections.

If you only make measurements, and collect “data”, then you risk missing the uniqueness of whatever it is you are exploring. But if you take into consideration the environments, contexts and situations where your subject of study exists then you quickly realise that no two are the same. Yep, they can be the same weight, the same height, can be categorised and classified according to a limited set of “characteristics”, but their existence extends beyond their measurements.

Everything which exists is connected to, and constantly interacting with, the flows of materials, energy and information which course through the planet. I think this is the key to understanding uniqueness – it’s not in a data set, it’s in a complex network of connections.

To uncover uniqueness we need to explore individual existence, pulling together the past, the present and the possible futures, with a, frankly, inexhaustible web of relationships, bonds and connections.

The more we take a “holistic” approach, the more clearly we see the uniqueness of the person. The more we take a “reductionist”, or “abstract” approach, the more the person disappears into a collection of data.

Your uniqueness can’t be reduced to your gender, your race, your nationality, your size, the colour of your eyes or your hair. It lies in your singular existence, your blend of narrative, sensations, experiences, memories, hopes, thoughts and aspirations. It lies in your memories and your imaginings.