Heroes Not Zombies

I like this photo of a forest at night, lit just by moonlight. There’s something gently beautiful about moonlight. It stimulates the imagination.

Imagination must be one of our most remarkable powers. We use to see into the future, even the immediate future as we find our way from one place to another.

We use our imagination to make maps. Dan Seigel, the psychiatrist and neuroscientist who coined the term “Mindsight” said that we use the very front part of the brain to make three kinds of maps – a me map, a you map and a we map. These are special kinds of maps or patterns that we imagine to enable us to know ourselves and others.

We use our imagination to put ourselves in the shoes of others, to feel empathy and compassion.

We use our imagination to express ourselves creatively. It seems we are the most creative of all the species, painting, singing, dancing and telling stories.

We are essentially story tellers, which would be impossible without imagination.

We use imagination to solve problems, to create solutions and find ways out of difficult places.

However imagination does something else too….it shows us possible futures including the one where we don’t exist any more. It could be that we humans are the only creatures able to imagine our own deaths. We know we are mortal and that can be difficult to bear.

Fear would be impossible without imagination, and existential fear, the fear of death, is thought to be at the root of all fear. After all people don’t really fear flying in a plane. They fear crashing in a plane and dying.

Imagination stirs our curiosity too, though. When we think about the future we don’t fear it all the time. Rather we wonder about it, anticipate it, can feel excited about it, the way children look forward to Christmas.

I think imagination is something we all have. But we all use it differently.

How about you? What are you going to use your imagination for today?

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From the very beginning I put this phrase at the top of my blog – becoming not being. It seems a very simple concept, and I think it really is. It shifts our attention from entities to events, from objects in themselves to subjects in the process of change.

I’ve been in the habit of recalling this phrase for many years now and it’s at the basis of my understanding of every human being as never fully knowable. That keeps me curious and, I hope, humble. It means I can never say I know all there is to know about anyone or anything.

I recalled this phrase yesterday when I read this –

The idea that will change the game of knowledge is the realization that it is more important to understand events, objects, and processes in their relationship with each other than in their singular structure.

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALY

It comes from an interview with the great psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, whose concept of “flow” grabbed me and became an integral part of my way of looking at life.

That call to wake up and see the world as living, changing inter-related phenomena and events rather than as discrete, entirely separate objects reminded me of two other thinkers and writers.

The world of quantum mechanics is not a world of objects: it is a world of events. The world is not a collection of things it is a collection of events. The difference between things and events is that things persist in time events have a limited duration. A stone is a prototypical thing: we can ask ourselves where it will be tomorrow. The world is made up of networks of kisses not stones.

Carlo Rovelli

The physicist, Carlo Rovelli, captures this idea beautifully when he asks us to realise that reality is events, not objects, “kisses not stones”

The other is the psychiatrist and philosopher Iain McGilchrist whose exploration of the differences between the right and left brain continue to enlighten me. He says the right brain seeks “the particular”.

Individuals, as befits individuals, will fail to conform to an overall pattern

Iain McGilchrist

To know a particular person, the more you consider their connections, the better you might know and understand them. The right hemisphere has a tendency to explore connections. Iain McGilchrist says it is interested in the ‘betweenness’ rather than in the separate ‘things’.

Identity from a right hemisphere perspective emerges from this exploration of connections and difference.

Becoming not being – try it out for yourself see what the world looks like through this lens.

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Although this is a photo of a spider web it makes me think of invisible waves spreading around the world.

The way the sunlight has caught the strands of this web makes them radiant and when I think that word I see waves radiating. I had to be at just the right angle on to this web to see it. If I moved my position it disappeared so I remember it as an invisible web made visible by the light of the sun.

My understanding of reality is based on the concept of flows – material flows, energy flows and information flows. Only the first of these is visible. All three interact continuously and together they produce all the phenomena we experience.

I am constantly becoming, constantly emerging in the flux of these three flows. So are you. So are we.

Everything I think, everything I say and everything I do ripples out across the world meeting other waves wherever they are. All these flows interact and influence each other. What you think can affect me. What you say can affect me. What you do can affect me.

We, you and I, influence and affect others just by living. Our breathing changes the air. Our energy touches and moves others. Our ideas, thoughts and imaginings set off around the world and change it.

We can’t stop any of that. But we can choose what information, thoughts, ideas, energies and even physical materials which we want to disperse. We can choose to be toxic or nurturing. We can choose to pollute or care. We can choose to hate or to love.

If we want to choose though, we have to be aware. We have to wake up, become conscious if we want to live as heroes not zombies.,

We have to be aware of what we are being exposed to and we have to become aware of what we’re sending out, what we’re exposing others to.

The only thing we can’t do is not change the world.

So maybe we should choose how we want to change it. We can be the sources of love and kindness. We can spread care and compassion. Just by practising.

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I usually start each post here with one of my own photos but today is different. This diagram is taken from a fascinating important new research paper from Ireland. You can read the whole paper here.

These researchers found that 50% of Covid deaths in Ireland occurred from infections acquired in less than 400 buildings in the whole country – out of about 2.5 million buildings!

They show that this infection spreads in unsafe places because of poor quality air. And that can be fixed by improving ventilation and measuring air quality or mitigated by limiting the number of people in a particular place at the same time and by wearing masks in such places.

It turns out the Japanese authorities had this right from the beginning with their public education about the “3 Cs” – closed places, crowded spaces and close contacts.

The same principle applies to workplace outbreaks where over half in Ireland occurred in about 150 buildings. It’s the same with care homes where the majority of deaths were in a small minority of homes. It’s the same phenomenon in peoples homes where the most overcrowded homes have the highest risks of infection.

This virus doesn’t spread primarily via surfaces. It spreads in the air, and the poorer the air quality, the greater the presence of the virus. It’s the same thing in Public transport as it is in homes, offices and other buildings.

Why is this important?

Because it shows a better way to manage this pandemic – avoiding both lockdowns and letting the virus run wild through the population.

At a Public Health level this shows government should target the improvement of air quality in public places through better ventilation and air quality monitors. They should target Public Health education about the “3 Cs” and encourage both caution and mask wearing in those situations.

At a personal level knowing this enables you to make better choices. Having caution and wearing masks in higher risk situations and paying attention to sufficient ventilation.

It also shows how important it is to reduce the problem of overcrowded homes and poorly ventilated work and social places.

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When I went to the cafe on Saturday morning my attention was caught by the colours of the autumn leaves around the Place Francois Premier.

One particular tree attracted me. It was just behind a beautiful old street lamp and I noticed that the colour of the leaves made one of the lamps appear orange, as if dimly lit, but another one, with the pale stone of the hotel behind it remained grey.

I love to notice an interplay like that…..where it takes both the foreground and the background to create the image. It reminds me of the importance of context and the way everything in this world is interconnected.

Once I’d approached the tree and the lamp to get the composition I was after I noticed the stencil on the concrete base of the post. That gave me a different interplay – the juxtaposition of human creativity and natural beauty.

So I took that photo too.

You know my favourite adage – and not or!

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Did the world leaders cop out at COP26? Did they make progress? Too little, too late? A step in the right direction?

I have very mixed feelings this morning as I read about the end of COP26. Frustration, anger, despair, optimism and hope.

Hey, that’s quite a list. And those feelings don’t seem at all compatible, do they?

What do you think? I should pick one and stick with it? Settle into despair, or embrace hope? Hold tight to the anger, or allow my optimism to grow?

Our emotional lives are complex. So is Life. So is this planet. We might like to simplify things and paint everything black and white but that reductionism isn’t real.

So, it seems the world leaders are still not doing enough. It seems they are pretty stuck at the blah blah blah stage, in thrall to, or held hostage by, those who get rich by plundering the Earth, ripping out coal, oil and gas, burning it and polluting the planet, those who destroy rainforests, rivers and oceans.

So that’s real. And it’s the source of my anger, frustration and despair.

But there’s a rising awareness too. There are other voices. Young voices, the voices of indigenous peoples, the voices of those already struggling with devastating climate change. There are different, more just, more caring and kinder visions.

That’s where my optimism and hope come from. More people are beginning to see the consequences of the way our species is living on Earth, and more are speaking up, working on new solutions, choosing different lives.

We need to change because we live in a complex interconnected web of relationships and consequences. What I do today has effects that ripple beyond the limits of my imagination. What you do today matters.

Maybe that’s where I, where we, have to start. Raising awareness and making choices based on care, based on love and based on kindness. And, yes, acting on those values and decisions.

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I came across these two photos sitting next to each other in my collection. The one on the left is taken in Scotland, and the one on the right in Japan.

Could they be more different?

Yet they say the same to me, each in their unique cultural context.

The Scottish one is in a ruined church. The Japanese one, in a temple. Both are spiritual windows. Both stir the soul and turn my thoughts towards the invisible.

The old church window is so typical and so familiar to me. It’s massively tall, arched shape is like a giant arrow turning my gaze upwards then pointing me towards the heavens. This is my history, my tradition, the shape of places of worship.

The temple window is utterly strange and different to me. It’s why I loved so much my many visits to Japan. The culture, traditions and shapes are from such a different history and geography to mine that I’d have my attention grabbed a thousand times a day there. My ability to notice what was around me was turned up to max. This window, too, connects me to my soul. It turns my gaze to the garden, to Nature, to Mother Earth, and the circle shape stirs my deep intuitive knowledge that all is One and Whole.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunities to experience windows like these. I feel blessed by their beauty, by their difference and by where they both lead me.

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We all use the phrase “simply beautiful”, or “the beauty of simplicity”, and I think it captures the delight we feel when something makes sense. When we understand, when we see clearly, it feels good. And when that happens easily and effortlessly then I think we find the beauty in simplicity.

We don’t say “complexly beautiful” or talk about “the beauty of complexity” but, why not?

When I looked at this Nigella flower and took this photo I was entranced by both the beauty and the complexity of this plant.

Look at it. Look at those spiky stems reaching out in every direction like whiskers or feelers or even roots. Look at the varied intensities of colour in the leaves. Would it really capture the colours and shades to say “it’s purple”? Applying such a simple, single label can stop us from really seeing. Look at the colours and shapes of the pistils in the middle.

Honestly, I find this little flower astonishing. I can’t begin to imagine how it evolved to have each of these characteristics. I find myself in awe of its beauty and I feel the delights of both wonder and admiration.

All living organisms, humans, other animals, plants and so on are “complex adaptive systems”. They aren’t simple but they are beautiful, astonishing and wondrous.

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I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.

Unfinished poem. John O’Donohue

When someone makes a decision he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.

The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho

Flow – one of the most powerful concepts I know.

Life is flow. A flow of energy and substances. We humans, like all living creatures, are the manifestation of the constant flows of atoms, energies and information.

When we pay attention to the reality of flow, we realise that we are all connected and all constantly changing. It’s harder to put people into separate boxes when you are aware of flow. It’s harder to separate out this present moment from the past and the future once you consider flow.

Machines and mechanisms don’t flow. That’s why they are predictable. Living beings do flow. That’s why they are all unique at every moment you observe them. That’s why they are not predictable.

There’s no place for industrialised, standardised methods in health care because every person is unique, every relationship is unique, every life story is unique and all are constantly flowing, continuously emerging, always in the process of becoming.

That’s why I have “becoming not being” at the top of my blog. To remind us that we are neither fixed nor separate. We are the manifestation of flow.

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When we think of money we tend to think of coins, like these ones in this fountain. Or notes. But coins and notes are just cash and most people don’t receive their income as cash, nor do they pay most of their bills with cash.

Instead, nowadays, most money is electronic. It’s a number on a spreadsheet or a computer ledger. Isn’t that strange? Now that most money is just information on a computer it’s easier to see that money is simply a human invention – a social agreement. It doesn’t exist. Apart from cash, which is a tiny proportion of the money in bank accounts and funds around the world.

Weird, huh?

I got thinking about this the other day when Mark Carney announced at the COP26 that there was “130 trillion dollars of capital committed to net zero”. Well I mean what on Earth does 130 trillion dollars look like and where is it exactly?

And, more, if there is 130 trillion dollars sitting somewhere then why are children dying of hunger? Why isn’t there decent health care and education for everyone? Why doesn’t everyone have a home?

Well I’m no economist and I’ve read criticism of this 130 trillion dollar claim but that still leaves me thinking about money. And maybe you’re wondering about it too.

I read Stephanie Kelton’s The Deficit Myth last year and started listening to the MMT Podcast (MMT is Modern Monetary Theory). I don’t think about money the same way as I used to do any more!

I’m not going to try and tell you all about MMT or even attempt to discuss economics but when I looked at this photo again today the question posed by the MMT folk popped into my head again…..

Where does money come from?

When I think about this, the first thing I think about is cash. Coins are minted and notes are printed by the government. They don’t come from anywhere else. Anyone else creating money would be guilty of fraud. And as most money is now just numbers on computers, where does that come from? The government too.

Wait, if the government wants to spend money it just has to decide to do it? It just tells the Central Bank to put a certain number into a certain computer? Seems that’s pretty much true – at least for “fiat currencies” – ones created by governments eg US dollars, U.K. Sterling, Japanese Yen etc.

So the government doesn’t need to get money from anyone else? Not borrow it, or rake it in through taxation?

Can that be right? Well, only the government can create money so it seems they just do that every time they decide to spend something….

But there must be a limit? There is. In fact there are several. That’s what Stephanie Kenton’s book is about. There are limits. Inflation is one of them. If there is too much money in the country you get inflation. If that happens the government can take some away through taxation.

Whoa! That’s where I suddenly stopped seeing the world the same way! I thought the government needed to get money through taxes to tackle poverty, inadequate health and social care, poor housing etc. But no, they don’t get money from tax. Tax takes money OUT of the system. Spending puts it in.

Ok, enough for today. But, seriously, check this stuff out. Read The Deficit Myth or listen to a couple of introductory episodes of the MMT podcast, or check out MMT somewhere else.

I swear you won’t answer the question “where does money come from?” the same way ever again.

Now, how about we get on with deciding what problems we want to address? Turns out money is not the problem,

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