Becoming ourselves

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If the science of complexity, the science of open systems, gives a picture of the functioning of complex webs of inter-relating ‘things’, then we can expect this science to offer a perspective from the smallest to the largest scale. Individual humans – as well as communities, regions, or ecologies – are open, relational, woven, diverse entities. We humans have ‘form’ and yet continue to be shaped and energised by the wider world of which we are a part. We are not fixed but honed by everything that happens along the way. The insights gained from complexity theory can provide guidance and insight not only at the level of society or organisation, but also at this level of the individual.

This is not to suggest that these so-called scales ‒ individual, organisational, global – are independent of one another. It is individuals in relationship that constellate societies, and societies that engage with wider ecologies and economies to shape the global world. Indeed, there are times when particular individuals and unique events can have cataclysmic, global impacts. And vice versa, we – as individuals, families or communities – are hugely impacted by the norms that have become established in our global and more local societies.

Each of us is a complex pattern ‒ unique, complex, constituted through the relationship with our environment, and impacted by the people and pets and possessions that surround us. We are shaped by our past, shaped by our present – yet always becoming. In some ways we can feel caught in patterns – of behaviour, of expectations, of social norms – from which, at times, it can feel there is no escape. At other times, we adapt, transform and surprise ourselves.

Sometimes we experience ourselves as a complex congregation of characters, arguing between the part that wants another cake and the part that does not, or between our tendency to be selfish and our capacity to be other-centred. Sometimes we find ourselves a conundrum; we recognise a certain persistence in our behaviour, and yet at the same time experience ourselves disconcertedly morphing and shifting in relation to those around us, responding to changing circumstances, swayed by our feelings and moods. We cannot stop ourselves being irritated by the behaviour of someone close to us, and yet we can display a sudden spontaneity of affection, astound ourselves by speaking out, or find ourselves strangely entranced by a new interest.

We affect each other and shape cultural norms, and then ‘culture’ impacts back on us. These ideas do not apply to the ‘outer’ world alone; the less tangible ‘inner’ world of memories, gut instincts, beliefs and fears also behaves in ways that are in tune with a complexity perspective. Indeed, what makes us who we are is a complex interweaving of the tangible and intangible, the mind and the body, the inner and the outer.

Man grows according to his interpretation of himself. Viktor Frankl

These realisations can help us to navigate more skilfully the world of which we are a part. The insight that we are always becoming – rather than seeing ourselves as fixed, unchanging, independent units – can inform the way to live and work.

A  note to ponder:  People are not fixed entities; they do not remain untouched when engaging with each other and with the demands of the world around them. It seems fitting to suggest that people are processes – constantly shaping and being shaped, constantly becoming. I find it a relief to recognise that however fixed I feel by my history and circumstances, the reality is I am always able to change – even if the only difference I can make is to my attitudes.