Seeing Systems

• When we want to change the world, where do we look to make the change?
• When we want to change our lives, where do we look to make the change?
• When we want to change ourselves, where do we look to make the change?

Time and again we watch movies, read books and come across stories of great battles. The story of the good-versus-evil. The hero who rises up to meet his nemesis and be the victor over his opponent.

Why then do we make such poor progress in the real world, with our real lives? Surely all we need to do is uncover the one point of weakness, find the one person to blame and then eradicate the problem once and for all.

But that is where the world of stories and the real world diverge. Here in our real world there is no one single problem. There is no one dragon to slay so that the world will suddenly resound triumphantly.

Instead there are a million little pieces. Under each stone there is a slightly different story. When we change one part of the puzzle, other parts seem to rewrite themselves. When we stab defiantly at the “cause” we shriek out in pain, not realising that we are actually attacking another part of ourselves.

This is the complex world we live in. These are the types of interwoven lives we share. These are the intricate and unique selves we see in the mirror.

Should we want to change these? Definitely. Life is change.

Should we be fighting these? Probably not.

How do we tackle this then? I do not know. However, maybe we should be telling different stories. Creating new metaphors. Expanding our repertoire by seeing the systems for what they are and not trying reduce them to a single point, a single villain, a single mistake.

In changing how we see the world, there is once again hope. A breath of fresh air as we gain perspective and right ourselves for the next joyous step.