In contemplating living systems, it’s difficult to imagine that so many “dead” systems form relationships with human bodies that can bring such differences in how lives unfold. Humanity brings to life systems that are otherwise inert. It is easier for me to imagine how living systems theory works in an interactive way between organisms and the environment when I imagine the anatomy of a human body and all of the stimuli a body responds to. There are different implications for different types of bodies, and systems interact differently with different body types. For some among many examples, a female body has large political implications assigned to it that depend upon where in the world the body was born. Female bodies are allowed vastly different rights and abilities dependent upon where they exist. In some countries, females can work for money and in other places females are confined to the homes and forced into pregnancy and childcare. Male bodies are nearly always expected to work and provide for their communities in major ways, such as building, hunting and providing food, or monetarily sustaining their family units. In some places young children are put to work early in their life cycle and in other places children are encouraged to study so they can grow to be efficient and educated contributors to the economic atmosphere in their surroundings. There are different historical inputs and implications for bodies that belong to people of color versus bodies of white people, and so on. How to illustrate these differences is what interests me.
In contemplating the infinite possibilities that safeguard or jeopardize how different body types will be processed throughout their lives, I tried to imagine where my own body falls within living systems theory. To imagine a human body and it’s lifecourse potential, I think of the geographical location at birth to be the most important. Much of my contemplative practice around living systems theory was wondering where, exactly, the human body would be placed in a diagram of a living systems theory. To illustrate my own theory of my body as a living system and the relationships my body has with other systems, I would place my body in the center of a large circle, with geographical location at birth, economic systems, political systems, and transportation systems to surround myself and encompass all other interactive systems that sustain me. My location at birth informed most of my life course outcomes, as well as my skin color. The economy in my home and community allowed me to grow into a healthy body and seek an education as my family didn’t worry about hungry and nourishment. Policy informs many of the choices I am allowed to make, particularly regarding reproductive rights and health, and because of education I am able to make informed decisions as a voter in the American democracy. Transportation systems are pertinent systems I interact with as I live in a country where there is not only freedom in mobilization but, also, where ample resources are grown, created and imported into that provide enrichment and opportunities to my life that people born into poorer countries don’t have.
All of these four systems interact with each other, and their mutual relationships inform my relationships with the world as much as the specific, individual systems interact with me on their own. They, too, inform the subsystems like the world food system, which interacts with transportation, policy and geography. The educational system is governed by policy, transportation (proximity to schools) and health. Policy is greatly informed by the world economic system. Because all of these systems are interconnected, if one system were to be withdrawn or altered, the other systems would stutter, at least, if not fall altogether. The interaction between so many dead or lifeless systems greatly informs human lives, which, somewhat, brings life to all world systems that we need each to keep in motion so that the others can be sustained and human lives can continue.
Much of my contemplative practice on living systems was considering how to create an animated graphic that could cohesively depict living systems theory, tailored to different individuals. To illustrate living systems theory, I’d have to somehow show a body in motion amidst tens of systems that are put into motion by a collection of human bodies! The humans simultaneously using the fuel from living systems, like food, knowledge, mobility, while fueling these systems with policy, money, and other forms of energy. How would you try to depict living systems theory in a motion graphic, and what do you think are the most pertinent systems?