There is a Buddhist perspective I like that walks through looking at our past and seeing the influence of where we come from. This opens up a viewpoint of what got us to where we are and how nothing we’ve done has been independent of others.
The visualization is look at a flower and think about everything that it took for that flower to bloom. We go down the list:
- Days, weeks, and months of sun.
- Days, weeks, and months of rain.
- The nutrients in the dirt.
From this simple list we can start get a little deeper:
- The seed had to be place in this spot get this amount of sun and water.
- What brought the seed here?
- Where is the original plant?
- How far did it travel?
- Where did that plant originate from?
- Where did the nutrients come from?
- What plants had to be here before this one could?
- Where did this plants come from?
It quickly turns into a mirror in a mirror situation. To the point where it can start to get overwhelming. It’s much easier to stick with those initial answers and be done with it.
Given the chance to sit in that complexity provides a beauty to the plant that doesn’t exist without it. The time and energy it took to create this one-of-kind flower. And this is just a plant.
Looking at a human existence the complexity is exponential. It makes any life appear inconceivable. A miracle that happens daily. Frequent enough that it feels common place and dismissible. Supporting the decision to simplify, categorize and ignore.