Heroes Not Zombies

I was walking through a forest the other day when this caught my eye. Does that happen to you? You’re just walking along when suddenly something catches your eye and you stop. I love when this happens. It’s feels like the universe is calling, saying “Hey, wait a moment, pause a moment and pay attention. I’ve got something to show you.”

So, what do you see?

A snail on a tree?

Well, yes, at least that. But look a little closer and you’ll see two of the most important patterns in the universe.

There are a number of common patterns we can see which repeat in both the smallest and largest forms….as if there are invisible organising energies which fashion whatever they are flowing through into these universal shapes.

Here there’s the spiral on the shell of the snail and the concentric rings on the bark of the tree.

I think these are two highly dynamic patterns. They both indicate movement and change. These are two of the commonest ways in which change spreads through entire systems, whole organisms, communities and biospheres.

We can see these patterns in our life stories. The constant return of the circle or cycle over time which creates a spiral, each time round familiar, but also new and different. And the seeds or germs of an idea, a thought, which grows and grows changing more and more of our life as it goes. Or the way an emotionally charged experience or a trauma acts as a stimulus, a spark of energy which takes our life story off in a brand new direction.