It's
Complicated
“...this
life of yours that you are living is not merely a piece of the entire
existence, but is, in a certain sense the whole; only the whole is
not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one simple glance.”
Erwin
Schrodinger (My View of the World)
When
we think about the complexity of life, any life, it can take a while
to process. In fact, if we look at only one tissue type, say blood
cells, we can write books. Where they're made, how they
specialize, how each type operates in the body, how they can change
on demand, what happens when we have too few or too many, and on and
on. I once was fascinated with fascia—that strange crystalline
tissue that is everywhere in the body, lining all the cavities,
encasing all the organs and muscles and tissues. It is the
communication system of the body that keeps every cell in contact
with every other. That only scratches the surface of two of a myriad
of amazing facets of the human body. And don't get me started on
personality and memory! Have mercy.
Erwin
Schrodinger was a physicist who coined a term used often by the late
Joseph Campbell--”thou art that.” When he studied the systems
operating in the universe, he came to realize that those same complex
systems are found everywhere in creation. I remember as a child
studying our solar system, with the sun in the middle and all the
planets orbiting around at different distances. Then looking at an
atom, and seeing essentially the same structure. There is vast
complexity in nature and in us. The native Americans have a simple
saying that captures it, “As above, so below.” Whatever is 'out
there' is also 'in here.'
All
of which begs the question of why we seem to think there are simple
answers to very complex questions. Whether it involves another human
being, their lifestyle, their motivations, their actions, we
sometimes come up with one word definitions. “Oh, he's just a
----!” Also, when it comes to people who differ from us
politically, or ideologically, we are able to pin a label on them and
feel satisfied. Take the situation in Syria, as example; Americans
are very certain that they know what is going on there and what
should be done, and the fact is...it's complicated. And that's true
for almost everything. We are complicated beings living in a
complicated world. We want easy answers in a world where there aren't
any.
Today,
as you are combing your hair, or brushing your teeth, think about all
the intricate muscle motions and nerve firings required to do that
one simple task. And then realize that as complex as you are,
everything else in the world, in the universe, is too. As within, so
without.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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