Changing Everything

I've been exposed in my studies to a fair amount of what can be termed integrative thinking. This has been useful in helping me to see a larger context of my actions and my lifestyle. Basically, an integrative perspective involves looking at problems or issues in the context of their entire life cycle within a system, and looks at spin-offs, second and third order consequences of actions, of problems, of solutions etc. As one of my teachers aptly put it, when we solve problems, we often land ourselves in a 'new soup', which is worst than the old one. This is often a result of looking at issues one-dimensionally. Or of obsessing on symptoms rather than root causes, or looking at only one part of a problem at a time, bereft of context.

So I've been trying to bring this perspective to my activities, and my dialogue with others. I think the best of intentions can go terribly awry sometimes if action isn't thought through, and I also firmly believe that it is important commit to real positive change, not just the appearance of change, so I try to be critical of social change - in myself, and in others, to be sure that I am not getting caught up in the good feeling of it rather than the pragmatic consequences. There is a very fine line sometimes, especially when our intentions, our identity, emotions, our relationships, and our world view get caught up in our desire to progress, or sometimes, our desire to appear to be progressing, or to fit in.

Hence the title of this post - changing everything. I think individual and societal progress is a trajectory, not a destination, but I think when we are contemplating change as individuals, and as groups, we need to really step back, and take stock of the entire system. This system is our life, and our life is embedded in numerous overlapping systems and institutions. I think when deciding on an individual change that we want to pursue, it helps to think this way, to imagine the consequences to other parts of our life, or of society in general, and to try to be pragmatic, and to envision a healthy organic system, and think - what is the diverse set of complimentary actions that I can take in my life to help my community achieve the future I am envisioning? And what are the unintended consequences of these actions that might prove detrimental to that aim?