Relational Holism: The Insignificant and the Significant
To function effectively we need self-esteem. But sometimes we may catch ourselves behaving in a very puffed up, arrogant and self -absorbed manner thinking that we are the only significant people around while the rest are just minions to do our bidding.
It is at this moment we need to remind ourselves that each of us is just one of 7.7 billion people on this planet. And that this planet is just a minuscule fragment existing in the Milky Way galaxy which is one of the billions of other galaxies in our universe. We are an insignificant, microscopic speck. That’s all!
And yet ironically if we dwelt far too long on our infinitesimal stature we would never experience our enormous capacity to achieve what we have achieved individually and collectively. We have put a man on the moon, discovered electricity, harnessed the power of wind and solar energy, created the Internet and Artificial intelligence and achieved many more significant landmarks in different fields.
We need to experience our self-respect and potential in relation to others without any hubris. Each one of us unique. There has been no one like any of us who has existed before. Therefore as unique individuals we need to discover our purpose and meaning. We need to discover our significance.
Significance comes from seeing the big picture. We need to develop a vision for ourselves to be worked on and achieved. Who do we want to become. But that will happen only if we focus on the insignificant details of our everyday lives and activities related to the achievement of this vision. The significance of the vision gives importance and context to the insignificance of our everyday activities.
While walking or driving along a coastline we notice only the rough roads and stones and boulders and seaside shores. The insignificance of these become significant when one sees this same coastline from a helicopter or aeroplane. We now notice the jaggedness and cragginess as well as smoothness of the coastline.
The view from above gives meaning to our experience of walking or driving along the coastline inasmuch as our walking or driving along the coastline draws inspiration from the view above. There is a related wholeness to this experience. The big picture gives a perspective to the ground view and vice versa.
Companies take great pride in drawing up vision/mission statements. However, this view from the 30,000 feet level needs to be supported by detailed execution of everyday activities, processes and procedures. The vision gives meaning to these sometimes irritatingly mundane tasks inasmuch as these tasks draw their meaning from the vision which the Company has set for itself.
The significant gives the insignificant perspective inasmuch as the insignificant gets its meaning from the significant. We may be specks but we are still a bundle of potentiality. The potentiality of the seed to become a tree is already embedded in the seed. The insignificant seed and the significant tree are one. We need to live continuously in the context of ‘relational holism’. Life is not made up of fragmented parts put together but rather exists as a related whole.
