THE TETRAHEDRON MODEL OF HUMAN ECOLOGY
Our world can be thought of in a unified and simple way by using the simplest fundamental structure in nature—the Tetrahedron—as a visual model. The Tetrahedron is the simplest building cell by which all of nature’s forms and structures are built. It illustrates the unified links between points and the interrelationship and shared distribution of those points as a unified whole. It is the basis, then, for explaining the most fundamental relationships between the most fundamental subjects issues of humanity—our social world, our economic world, our environmental world and our physical/physiological world. We must remind ourselves, daily, that the healthy functioning of all four areas is at the root of human life; and as one portion becomes over-emphasized or neglected, the system as a whole will be severely debilitated to the point of self-destruction.
Our Social World: I cannot be what I want to be until you are what you want to be; and you cannot be what you want to be until I am what I want to be. We are inextricably woven together, each of us, in a single garment of humanity. We cannot truly raise our own lives until we raise the consciousness of all lives. For if we endeavor to think only for ourselves then we will forever be an island alienated from relationship to the whole, to others, and we will expend great energy to guard ourselves, to secure our thoughts and acquisitions from others, to protect our feigned exclusivity, in essence, to live in fear. Our social heritage emboldens us to include each other, to share our insights and ingenuity, to aid in times of need, care for those less fortunate, and to teach others to care for themselves and contribute to raising the level of ability and conscience for the whole of humanity. Social responsibility is an educational responsibility; to learn and teach all of us how to be independent, imaginative and safe.
Our Economic World: Economics comes from the Greek terms: Oikos; meaning the household or family, and, Nomos; meaning rules or natural laws. Economics, then, could be viewed as the “rules of our family”, with our “family” being the family of humanity. For our family to function effectively we must allow each person the means to function responsibly in relation to the continued health of the family. If a member of the family is deficient of means then the others members can aid them as long as it benefits the well-being of the whole. What defines well-being? That which supports the continued peace and creative functioning of the family. The family establishes its aspirations, its needs and goals that does no harm to others or to the larger living environment within which sustains the family.
The Environmental World: This is the larger universe by which we share and utilize materials. It is the universe of resources—of the materials by which we may sustain our creative lives and our health. It is the universe of nature—our supreme teacher and the mentor whose every expression or structure, color, processes, interrelationships, forms, relationships, function and systems, is a living book of knowledge for all of us to discover, explore, inquire, observe and learn; and to guide us in correct relationship with each other. Nature teaches us that correct relationship is behaviors that daily sustain and strengthen all living things as a whole. It is the affirmation that each of us is a indivisible member of the whole and that our every action and attitude affects the whole.
Our Physical Bodies: Our bodies are our best model for exploring the universe. Our bodies are the first line of cause and effect that teaches us correct relationship with nature. Improper and incorrect treatment of the body creates sickness, pain and destruction. Our bodies are our testing grounds for the environment that surrounds us. If we adversely affect the environment then we will be adversely affected. We are intimately connected with the environment. It is a direct reflection of us, of our thoughts, our values, our attitudes and our behaviors. This is the invisible rule that links us all together, not just with each other, but with all living things. We must find ways to remind ourselves of our relationship and our responsibility and see that all areas of human endeavor, social, economic, environmental and physical, are inextricably interlinked with one another. Interconnection is the universal law of life.
RELATIONSHIP
If I neglect my physical body for the sake of over-emphasis on my economic life then sickness, disease, immobility and severe disability will eventually overtake my life. If I put great emphasis on socializing and to dedicating my life to the local community without caring for my physical body or for the natural environment which surrounds me then I will also deplete my energies, neglect the natural environment that sustains me and be sickened toxic fumes or become obese from poor quality, high fat foods. The point is, that our daily life is an artful and every-changing, ever-adapting composition of food intake, physical activity, the earning and monitoring of money, of the health of the natural environment surrounding us, of our intimate relationship with everyone we meet, and we must be sure that all four of these aspects of life are strong throughout every day of our lives. To neglect one aspect is to directly affect the ability to address the others. If I am physically weak or sick I cannot properly attend to my social, environmental and economic life. Likewise, if I am very financially poor, I cannot effectively attend to my environmental and social life because I am blinded by the impetuousness to make money.
LIFE’S DESIGN
Each of us is designed to be creative, to look forward, to ask questions and be inquisitive; in a word, to dream. Our eyes are in the front of our heads, not behind. We are designed to look to the future, to dream of things ahead, not to look backward to where we have been and what we have done. When we walk forward we must be off balance, we must commit ourselves to be vulnerable, in order to move ahead. Nature’s invisible energies congregate before a living form materializes; for instance, the formation of a newborn’s spine during pregnancy, or the forming of an eggshell in a duck, or the invisible but measurable energy field at our acupuncture points. And so it is that our invisible dreams set the pattern by which our lives materialize our aspirations.
But our dreams must be tempered by the proper and clear perspective of life’s four-fold aspects; our physical, environmental, social and economic life. One aspect debilitated or neglected ruins the prospects for our dream’s success. And the balanced evolution of the four aspects of our lives assures a sense of happiness and well-being. Is this not the path to happiness?