Level of Self-Organization within my Community
“A human being is part of the whole…He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated
from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting
us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from
this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the
liberation and a foundation for inner security”.
~ Albert Einstein
Self-organization by definition is, “Increasing complexity in a complex system as it takes in more energy than it releases.” (Wessels, 2006) When applying this principle to social systems, it is important to examine how integrated people are within their own communities. Considering the diversity of people and the many unique talents we all possess, it is most beneficial for the members of a community to become deeply interconnected and integrate their specializations. What I continuously ponder is why we often find the opposite situation occurring. Through an understanding of self-organization, one can see that they are an integral part of their community and how they can make a huge impact simply by buying their vegetables from the local farmer.
Last year, when I decided to attend Antioch, I never questioned my decision to live in Keene. I knew Antioch was a commuter school but I wanted the full experience of living and going to school in the same town. This decision meant moving three hundred thirty miles away from family, friends and my long-term boyfriend. What kept me whole during this transition period was the sense of community I felt instantly in Keene. Also, living within minutes from Main Street resulted in making stronger connections with people in the community based solely on the frequency of interactions. Last year, I became aware of the importance of a main street in a community and how it leads to a higher level of self-organization.
This year I decided to embark on a new adventure with my boyfriend and live and work on a sheep farm in Westmoreland, NH. This has been a tremendous learning experience for both of us, but has undoubtedly changed my level of self-organization within the Keene/Antioch community. I now understand that location plays a large factor in how integrated you are within your community. When I was living in Keene I was able to walk to Main Street, bike to school and stop by a friend’s house on a moments notice. Now everything takes more time and planning to do routine things such as going to the grocery store. I also used to occasionally volunteer at different events run by Antioch students, but now with the distance and added obligations, it is harder to get to town and interact with the Keene community.
Within the town of Westmoreland there is a central square with one town store. The owners of the store are extremely friendly and love to spend time talking with you. Their hours are limited but they will stay open later if you need them too. This is a quality that has kept customers over the years and in addition is a place where locals connect. Unfortunately other than the town store, there is not a huge draw for members of the community to come to the main part of town. I realize that for a community to be the most tightly interwoven, there needs to be a larger draw to frequent to Main Street. If needs cannot be met on main street, then people will drive to another town to find their needed goods and in turn spend less time away from people within their community.
The couple whose property my boyfriend and I live and work on, share the responsibilities of taking care of sheep and chickens with us. We set up a chores schedule every month although there is some flexibility. Because we all have the same specialization, if one person is not available there are three people as backup for any particular shift. By having four people to take care of the sheep there is redundancy of function, which ensures the sheep will be taken care of. Another observation I have made during the past couple months while living on an isolated farm is that owning a large amount of private property can inhibit interactions with other people. This is not always the case, however, but the chances of someone just stopping by is less likely.
Five years from now I hope to be living in a supportive community where people are interconnected and rely on one another. It’s interesting to examine a movement like “buy local” and realize that it is aligning with creating a greater level of self-organization. If we were to get our food and supplies from people we knew, it would make our lives easier and more resilient. The problem is that we are so disconnected from the people who we are buying from that the only factor we consider is price. Today, you will not find the best price for anything at a small family run store. Huge generalist stores, such as Wal-Mart have made it impossible to compete. By returning to a local main street economy people will reconnect with their communities and understand the importance of supporting members in their own community.
In the future I seek to be working within a school that is nested within a small community and has ties to local merchants and farmers. I hope to integrate a science curriculum with a systems approach and use service learning projects to exemplify these principles. For example, setting up a student run garden or creating a “time share” within the school. I seek to develop strong relationships with my coworkers in order to integrate our curriculum so that students will be able to see a coherent thread. I also hope to foster a classroom culture where students feel safe and are able to speak their minds. When students trust and respect their teacher and one another, there is more space for freedom of expression. I am exited to show my students that collaboration is more beneficial than competition, which can be explained by exploring self-organization.
Most people have heard their entire lives that, “It is important to love what you do and be good at it”. Until now I was not aware that this aligned with self-organization and that it is most important for any system to be highly integrated amongst specializations. By working within a school I will be providing a service children and developing a greater relationship with the community. I will get to know student’s parents, siblings and friends who I otherwise may never come in contact with. Schools are created for a common purpose, which is to serve children and have the potential to be highly integrated organizations.
One thing I have learned is that self-organization takes time. Deep relationships, especially amongst human beings can often be life-long undertakings. In biological systems, integration of specializations occurs over a long period time as well and never spontaneously over night. Within this process errors occur, and learning takes place before the best techniques are kept. In our society we are deathly afraid to fail. We are afraid to try new things and form anxiety around new experiences because we have been told our entire lives that mistakes are bad. This fear is however, impractical because in life, we are bound to make mistakes. The more integrated you become within your community and the better relationships you form with people, the faster people are able forgive and move on.
As previously mentioned by Einstein, people often feel isolated from others and believe that through competition they will achieve happiness. While studying self-organization, I was amazed at the relevance to social systems and how different it is from what mainstream culture encourages. The more tightly interconnected you are within your society, the less energy you have to exert, which often leads to greater happiness. The connection between the principles of system’s thinking and the elements of human happiness are uncanny. People that feel interconnected within their communities generally are more healthy and resilient in the face of adversity. Through this investigation of self-organization I have come to a deeper understanding and reaffirmation of why and what I am seeking for my future.
References
Wessels, Tom. (2006) The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future.