issue 19: Balance
A state of centeredness and calm equilibrium?
The harmonious tension between a diverse mix of influences?
Considerate weighing of information from different sources?
An active resistance to being pulled to any one side?…
What is "Balance" for you?
In the previous issue of the CG (issue 18: "Bridging the Rift") we considered the very different though complementary roles our left and right brain hemispheres play in how we view, relate to and act in the world. Bisecting this lateral connection on the vertical axis is the heart-brain-gut connection working together and exchanging information via the nervous system. While the left and right hemispheres could be represented as our 'angel' of compassion 'we are all one' wholistic appreciation on one shoulder and me-centered bureaucratic reductionist 'devil' on the other, the vertical heart-brain-gut relationship could be seen as a film production crew with the brain as the Director (planning, logic), the heart as the Lead Actor (emotion, passion), and the gut as the Producer (survival, intuition, energy management). Together—when in a good and balanced relationship with one another—they form a tridirectional axis ensuring cohesive, intelligent, and survival-supporting action. The key to best functioning of both the lateral brain hemisphere connection and vertical heart-brain-gut axis is… you guessed it, balance.
In this issue of Community Garden you're invited to consider both a balanced perspective as well as a balanced biome. We cannot address what it means to be in community without acknowledging the fractal ecology of diverse beings that make up not just the wild world we call nature, but our wildly diverse human communities and the even wilder ecosystems within each of us collectively referred to as the microbiota. This diverse biome of our bodies consists of a multitude of little critters—bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi and viruses (which outnumber actual human cells, btw)—that not only inhabit our physical bodies but have a significant influence on our thoughts, moods and discernment via the “3 brains” of the gut-heart-brain axis.
Included in this issue are…
some lighthearted examples of how expanding our frame of view can change our perception of a situation.
a brief education on the gut biome with practical resources for how to bolster the number and necessary diversity of “good guys” in our gut.
a fascinating story of how a “bad guy” corporation finally turned "good" under pressure and how the “bad guy” bacteriophages from the nastiest places (incl. the “bad guy” country that first introduced the groundbreaking science) turned out to be the heroes that saved a man’s life.
some artfully rendered cautionary tales about the mono monster of our human making that creates destructive mono crops, mono cultures, mono media + so many other monopolies that run it all and what effect this mono mindset has on the balance of our world.
and perhaps you will also discover a little Easter Egg tucked into the fold that holds special relevance to our GW community.
By the end of this exploration, we may be re-framing our notions of "bad guys” and "good guys” altogether. We may be more willing to explore diverse perspectives and diversify what we consume as food and information. We may be better able to appreciate the subtle nuances and complex dynamics within all things. We may question more our own habituated prejudices and biases and we may be more inclined to revive that good ol’ fashioned skill of critical thinking... This is the hope and invitation. God knows we could use more balance in such a polarized world!
In Truth, Beauty and Goodness,
B. Monique
Find the full issue 19: Balance here.
