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In the Relocalization Network Coordinator's HUB, Tom Ellis wrote,
responding to a debate between two coordinators, one of whom emphasized
the importance of the instinct to competition and the other cooperation
among human beings in determining reactions to the collapse of
fossil-fueled civilization:
Lynn Margulis is closer to the mark when
she says (I think it was she)--"Symbiosis writes and competition
edits." In short, we cooperate when we perceive that it is in our
interest to do so; we compete (i.e. fight or flight) when we feel that we
are threatened.
Symbiosis provides the basis for innovation; competition and the
mutual avoidance thereof preserve the ecological status quo. The only
constants in all of this are the three cardinal survival values of all
living beings:
--health (internal homeostasis);
--competence (the specialized skills to survive in a predictable niche)
and
--adaptive flexibility (the generalized skills necessary to adapt to
unpredictable change).
And there's the rub--in a time of (relative) systemic stability, we tend
to select for competence; conversely, in a time of systemic collapse
and/or catastrophic change, Gaia selects for adaptive flexibility, which
depends--above all--on diversity--of genes, of skills, of diets, of
coping mechanisms.
And of course, cooperation generally (but not necessarily) increases our
collective adaptive flexibility.
This is why I keep returning, as the wave of global economic collapse
approaches ever closer to home, to three simple injunctions:
Plant gardens. Get to know your neighbors, and grow community. Create
local, sustainable economies.
Or putting it even more simply, I adhere to a "Dharma Gaia
Mantra" I have invented: ten verb phrases I repeat on the outbreath,
to quiet my mind and focus my priorities:
Breathe, Observe, Let Go.
Be well, Do Good Work, Keep in Touch. (with gratitude to Garrison
Keillor)
Learn Gaia.
Teach Gaia
Heal Gaia
Create Gaia.
Best wishes, Tom
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