Regenerating is being in community
A fundamental function of regenerating is raising awareness and practicing the interconnectedness of everything to everything.
Core premise — regenerating as a process requires numerous beings, interacting cooperatively, co-dependantly as a co-evolving whole of nested systems.
Ok, now that premise is out and clear, let’s explore how we can consider regenerating to be in community.
Very little in our world actually functions in isolation. Many would say nothing operates entirely independently, without receiving any input, resource or energy from anything else. Certainly not within living system. Everything is reliant in some small or significant way on something else, often, on many other entities — or when we map systems dilligently and expansively enough, we discover that everything is in fact dependent on everything else.
And so to regenerating. As in individual endeavour, regenerating is possible. You are being regenerated, and you are regenerated, right now, as you are reading this. Your cells, and the shares not coded with your DNA which exist within your body, on your skin and in the immediate ‘biome’ beyond your skin, are all regenerating. You are, as you sit/stand/walk reading this — a living example of a whole regenerating via a process know as co-evolving mutualism (more on this in the upcoming article ‘Regenerating is happening within you right now). This system, repairing, diversifying, adapting, replicating and evolving within you right now can be considered another way — as a community. A nested community.
And whilst you may or may not yet sense that regenerating is your work or Work, being in connection with any other living being outside of your ‘internally nested community’, brings you into community with other nested wholes.
A nested whole is, by my elementary definiation, a complete system which reciprocally supports and nurturs itself, connected and in relationship with other complete systems. As these systems cluster and operate at various levels, we see the ‘lines of work’ of nestedness. A child. A family. A kindred group, a community, a society etc.
Regenerating is very much a nested process. Working only on one element is restrained, perhaps to the point of not being regeneration at all. Doing one’s ‘inner work’ (mindfullness mediation etc) without any shift affecting another being in relationship with you is merely doing inner work, not yet regenerative. This for me is why noting affect — a long observational process and a very immediate, proximate and present sensemaking.
All of the rememberings I have of regenerating occured in community with our beings. With fellow living-system practitioners. With family. With farmers. With foresters. With animals. With insects. With trees and plants. In our workplaces. In our gardens. In our forests. In conservation areas. In cities. In oceans. Always connected. Always in relationship. Always connected. Always in community — seen or unseen, able to communicate in shared language or not. Always aware that ours is shared work, mutual endeavour, collective enterprise. Each with our role, inviting us to be regenerating. Together.
This article is one of a series I am writing responding to the prompt ‘What is regenerating’.
If you have started here, thank you, and you may wish to spend 4mins with the opening article which outlines the approach I’m following and the intention I’m carrying. There you’ll find linked the other articles in the series, the link being provided as the article is published.
As I sense sufficiency with my exploration of this prompt, I’ll also link a closing article.
Thank you as always for your time and attention today.
And an additional invitation which I sense sits well with this article. That if you enjoy being in community with fellow readers and authers, please do add your comments and notes during and at the ending of this article if you wish. I will respond and look forward to being in dialogue — a form of relationship — with you in doing so.
