Maintaining health in human systems

We intuitively understand how to live healthily in ‘systems’ because we exist in, belong to and interact with them every day of our lives.

Our human bodies are systems – we have a skeletal system that gives us stability and form, a nervous system that helps us respond to life as it shows up, muscular systems that enable us to move, and a circulatory system that pumps blood, oxygen and nutrients around our body.

We have families, friendship groups, social circles, communities and teams. We ‘belong’ to organisations, clubs, societies and networks.

We travel through streets, on motorways, on rivers, in trains and on aeroplanes. We use electricity, the telephone and the internet, to connect with others across the world.

And we do this all under a sky that is littered with constellations of stars, all on our earth, which spins on its axis as it orbits our sun and is orbited by our moon.

We literally are systems. Everything in life is interconnected, everything is interdependent, and everything is in motion.

So, we know way more about how to exist healthily in systems than we think. This stuff is steeped in our DNA and in our culture. We innately understand how to feel it, but our heads often get in the way.

We know that for systems to be well, they need to be in flow. We know that if things get stuck, or blocked, then problems start to happen. When the cardiovascular system gets blocked for example, we are at risk of having a heart-attack. ‘Trees on the line’ cause delays to our train journeys; lane closures on roads create hours of delays. Even the smallest blockages can create a large and lengthy systemic impact.

So, to keep our systems healthy, we have to give attention to removing blockages, and loosening things that are stuck.

The way we do this is by ‘acknowledging what is’ and by giving everything a place.

As people, this means facing in to, acknowledging and speaking our truth. And it means really, really listening to others. Listening without judgement and accepting their reality even (especially!) if it doesn’t match our own. It means being OK to stay with tension and discomfort and learning not to rush to solution. It means being kind and compassionate without feeling the need rescue. It means getting comfortable with questions and with not knowing the answers. It means being curious and interested. It means being vulnerable and brave. It means trusting other AND trusting yourself. It means living and leading with an open heart, and open mind.

So, consider the systems within which you belong: