You know that one friend who often rants about how everything is connected both in our current world system, as well as in the universe and beyond and how it important it is that we connect the dots and understand how everything works together so we can create a system that works to the betterment of our planet and all life on it? *quick breath. Well I am that friend. If you don't know anyone like that..."Hi" *waves. Now you do!
So, I am, of course, excited to begin the first steps in designing my dream whole system paradise in hope that in one way or another, this dream will be realised.
First of all, what is meant by the phrase 'whole system thinking' or 'whole system design'? Simply put it is about considering how the systems you come into contact with and interact with on a daily basis, like your garden system, water system, waste system, climate/zone system(s), economic system, the ecosystem, the micro-organism system, etc are or can be interconnected as a whole rather than be stand alone systems. It is about connecting those systems so that they work in harmony with each other and have interrelationships, creating a whole system. Systems can't be completely controlled, but we can follow nature's lead, observe them, design and tweak them using our ethics and their components to help create a series of networks and relationships that will work together to create something pretty incredible.
For now, I disregard the fact that I don’t have a massive site on which to create my dream system nor the funds and just go with it. Psshh I have thrown those restrictions aside, they matter not when imagination is at play!
I close my eyes and see it all stretched out before me, my children are there playing among it all, running, jumping, swinging, climbing, laughing. I can see the normally invisible web that connects everything - the interrelationships between all the components and how each part gives and takes, as flowing wormholes reminiscent of those in the movie Donnie Darko (yes I've seen it as many times as you suspect). I see myself hard at work, tweaking this system, creating it’s flow, taking care of the upkeep – I also see myself kicking back in a hammock and enjoying a delicious fruit platter from the produce I grow!
The first step is writing down all the components that I could possibly imagine. I begin to list them – food forest, aquaponics system, solar and compost hot water, wood fired pizza oven… and I begin to realise that this is going to be one massive, amazing task. My list includes around 20+ components, just off the top of my head.
Okay. Great. So now what?
Time to draw the web I imagined. Or at least the first parts I see for now.
Which of the components I saw, connect to other components, and how?
This is my first basic design. I will no doubt look back on this and remember when things used to be so simple, lol!
As you can see, every component connects to at least one other. When it comes to compost and the vegetable gardens, orchard or food forest, the connection is obvious – any leftover plant matter becomes part of the compost, in turn the plants create life for themselves or other plants. When it comes to seemingly stand alone components like the nature play area it can be a little harder to see – the orchard connects by the providing of materials and the house plumbing/shower as well as the rain tank connects by providing water for my children to play in, and shower with after they have finished playing. Another deeper connection could be that the nature play area also provides a life for bugs and insects, and that those insects work to pollinate things like the fruit trees and work the soil in the vegetable garden.
I have not only began to design my dream paradise using a whole system approach, but have also started thinking about this whole system as I go about my daily life - and have purposely put it into practice. Not surprisingly I already think this way majority of the time, but purposely aiming for implementing a whole systems approach in my life has meant that I am attempting to connect as many systems as I can in my life that I have previously not considered.
The next step is to make a complete list of the all the components and all their connections. I am going to keep the list pinned to my fridge, so that when another connection comes to mind, I can jot it down. I then want to draw it in detail. I even made a special trip to the shops, to buy a massive pack of index cards. Wish me luck!
Are you up for taking a whole systems approach in your life? Or have you already done so?