‘What did we agree to lose when we joined a human community and why did we agree to lose it?’
I am unable to attribute a source to this, as it has been written in my notebook.
As you look around the larger human groups the greater the dysfunction, and dis-regulation. It expands exponentially, beginning to envelop global behaviours. One group pitted against another, the struggle for control and power driven by fear, until the fear of loss permeates the whole.
Leaders publicly berate, humiliate and shame their counterparts, while in homes keyboard warriors gleefully spew vitriol and judgement on those who dare to differ from their ‘norm’.
I retreat to the herd, and have begun to dismantle the why, what, how, where and when of their dynamics and regulation.
I came up with a list of Co words –
- Communication
- Congruency
- Coherence
- Connection
- Containment
- Consideration
- Contribution
- Comply
- Conscious
- Cohabit
- Co-regulation
- Continue
- Companion
- Convergence
- Cohesion
- Collaboration
- Company
- Compelled
The following C words seemed to be essential additions –
- Capacity
- Creation
- Critical
- Curiosity which was added by Albe
Each word alone is completely neutral, however combined they begin to manifest an energy, a life force. This life force is what a well regulated herd embodies; it forms the unwritten but clearly understood rules of a community.
While every creature has the capacity for violence, the use of extreme and devastating force when driven to the need to defend. A stallion may kill an orphan foal running about crying out for its deceased mare. This behaviour is driven by logic of the survival of the whole not an ideology. The herd does not base relationship on sentimentality; acts of kindness, support and companionship are frequently witnessed.
The safety and survival of the herd is greater than the sum of its parts.
Why does it work for a horse and seemingly fail for a human? One may argue that horses are fundamentally different from humans.
In reply to this question, these are the answers I have received –
- A horse is an animal – well yes and biologically so are humans. We are both mammals.
- They have four legs and we have two – that is a physical difference an important one if you are a horse but it is not a fundamental difference.
- Horses eat grass – they are vegetarian and we are omnivores who have to rely on cooking our meat to eat it. Our teeth are not designed for tearing raw flesh apart. Like horses we evolved to move nomadically and browse to gather our food stuff.
- Horses are prey animals and humans are predators, which always trumps as the ultimate answer. The response to that is as humans we have a foot in both worlds as prey and predator. However these days, we are not avoiding sabre tooth tigers, we are protecting ourselves from manipulation, bullying and intimidation and on the extreme genocide.
In essence we are not fundamentally different from the horse at all. We have the same needs for safety, connection and relationship that they do. These are the foundational needs of any species. However, the critical difference is the human capacity for abstraction, the formation of ideologies which we use as tools to manipulate the narrative to justify our actions. This we build on our foundational needs, but it is a fragile house of cards, subject to the whims of others which may seek to easily destroy it. In response this reinforces, hardens and entrenches our ideological stance in which we begin to lose sight of shared humanity.
It occurs to me that the cornerstones of a community are based on the Co words, which create a multifaceted structure allowing for inclusion based on diversity united in a common goal of safety and security.
The conundrum is the how.
Again I turn to the herd to see how they resolve that. Leadership within the herd is not based on dominance. It is based on the ability of a horse, to show up in the moment, and make the decision to maintain the welfare of the whole. There is no gender bias, the stallion and the mare work in tandem to create the ebb and flow of movement. The mare will open up the space to move through while the stallion directs from behind. Each role different and both equally important, there is balance.
Each horse is the eyes and ears of the defence system, with 340 degree vision and a range of a kilometre, the environmental surveillance device which simultaneously remains in connection with others. Attuned to the smallest physiological arousal in members reading the intention to move if necessary or remain if safe.
The herd is strongly boundaried, behaviour has consequences. A disruptive member is pushed to the outside of the herd where it becomes increasingly vulnerable, cooperation implies inclusion.
The glue that holds it all together is relationship. Relationship based on the importance of congruency, coherence, connection, co-regulation informed by communication and consent.
In conclusion, circling back to my opening statement, ‘What did we agree to lose?’
Our capacity for critical thinking, our curiosity for diversity, perhaps? Pivotal, to this is life force, which is neutral in itself; however it exists in diametric opposites. Energy cannot be destroyed it can only be transformed. Transformation requires choice. We retain the capacity to make an informed choice for change.