Lessons From Nature

The country of Tanzania has a relatively stable government and is about as safe as anywhere on the African continent, especially if you spend as little time as possible in the cities.   Interestingly you have a greater chance of being robbed than of having an unpleasant meeting with simba (Swahili for lion).   The concentration of wildlife will allow you to see elephants, rhinos, wildebeest, lions, leopards, giraffes, and cheetahs all within the space of an hour. 

I wrote earlier how my daughter had been robbed in the northern town of Arusha while booking a safari.  After that incident I began to worry about the safety of a safari I could not have been more wrong.

Anthropologists believe that the Serengeti is part of our racial memory.  If they have it correct human life began in this astonishing environment.  Those who visit it describe the smell and sounds as a rightness that infuses the spirit. 

My daughter’s enthusiasm for the country and most especially for the animal sightings confirmed all that I had read about the Serengeti experience.  I have to wonder if we don’t deliberately put ourselves into natural environments will we lose our connection to the real world?  And as this connection grows weaker will we lose our ability to solve problems with respect to these natural systems?

There is a balance in nature that has existed since millennia.  Tribal groups like that Masai that still survive in the harsh African climate have resisted assimilation into the modern world.  Their survival demands a reverence and observance of the life they compete with. 

Rarely today do you ever hear a commentary on respecting the competition or acknowledging the importance of balance.  We live in the world of extremes.  Either too much or too little.

All of this pays homage to the scarcity mentality.  The belief that there is only so much to go around and I had better get mine before it runs out.  The opposing belief is more consistent with nature.  It is the abundance mentality.  The belief that there is enough to go around.  That everyone can have a piece of the pie if we learn how to share. 

Like it or not, we had better learn how to share.  Share ideas, share space, share resources, and even share failures.   If we take a lesson from nature we can all prosper, we can all enjoy a more balanced way of life. 

Schools especially must be willing to let go of their attachments to old ways and look at educators everywhere as one abundant resource. 

Happy Summer!