Embrace your Journey #19

“We cannot separate our history of actions -- biological and social -- from how the world appears to us... Every reflection brings forth a world." —?Humberto Maturana* & Francisco Varela**

While some wish for peace, others look for reasons... why are we still facing war in the 21st century? Instead of adding to the long list of possible answers, I invite you to reshape the question. Actually, I invite you to exercise the good practice of not focusing on the answers as much, but reflecting and improving your questions along the way.

According to the late Chilean biologists and systems thinkers Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela in their book "The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding", where the quote above comes from,

Speaking of living differently, how about considering that possibility as you start a new cycle?

A new year, a new job, ...a new equinox is coming on March 20th! The day and night will be of almost equal duration in most time zones in the world, marking the first day of spring in the Northern hemisphere and of fall in the Southern part of our beautiful planet.

In fact, many cultures around the world hold feasts and celebrate festivals and?holidays to mark the March equinox.?Actually, why wait? As I write to you some are celebrating Maha Sivaratri, the night of Lord Siva, one of the most sacred nights on the yogic calendar. Om Namah Sivaya!

The world we have brought forth is complex, as diverse as its inhabitants, or should I say co-creators? And it is in constant transformation by what we know and do. So, here is another quote from Maturana & Varela to get you warmed up for more insights below.

I wish you good reflections and new beginnings as bio-cultural beings and molecular autopoietic systems! Your thoughts and questions are always welcome either in the comments or to us directly.

Cheers,

Adriana Machado

Founder at Briyah Institute

Have you realized that life is lived in cycles and that you have the power to create a new beginning? Not sure how? Take a look at?Adriana Machado’s reflection at?PechaKucha?to be inspired, and join the?Briyah Institute?for continuous insights on?#systemsthinking,?#innovation,?#practice, and?#purpose?to ignite your?#leadership?journey in an?#impacteconomy.

"As we innovate, there is always something that is being conserved with different characteristics."—?Humberto Maturana*

At the Briyah Institute, we apply systems thinking to business and we encourage leaders to balance the "zooming in" with the "zooming out". Equally important is to practice to see systems, to see patterns, knowing when and how to intervene.

Here is a powerful guidance from Donella (Dana) Meadows***, in that regard: Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System.

"There are no cheap tickets to mastery. You have to work hard at it, whether that means rigorously analyzing a system or rigorously casting off your own paradigms and throwing yourself into the humility of Not Knowing. In the end, it seems that mastery has less to do with pushing leverage points than it does with strategically, profoundly, madly letting go."—?Donella Meadows***

Who are your most inspiring role model leaders? Do you have enough black women leaders on your list so you can learn from them as well? Meet?Deh Bastos, a Brazilian author, mother, activist, and Creation Director at Publicis to inspire you! In this conversation, in Portuguese, with?Adriana Machado, they highlight a few lessons that have shaped Deh as a leader in the advertising industry and much more.

As we close black history month on March 1st, we take the liberty of sharing a conversation promoted by the Biomimicry Institute that complements well the key points Deh Bastos touched upon in the video above: Start Where You Are: A Conversation on Uprooting Racism and Creating Systemic Change in S.T.E.M.

The panel was composed of Black professionals working in the sciences and sustainability movement: Biomimicry Professional and Wildlife TV Host?Billy Almon, world-renowned Carnivore Ecologist?Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, #Blackbirdersweek Co-organizer?Corina Newsome, Engineer and Entrepreneur?Aaron Shepard, and acclaimed Wildlife Photographer?Tsalani Lassiter.

Looking for further insights???Join us for the CEO Meet & Master Program?and learn to apply systems thinking to business and life.?The next cohort will start on March 14th, 2022 and you are welcome to sign up and secure your spot!?We look forward to seeing your there!

At?Briyah Institute?we bridge innovation, practice and purpose to inspire leaders to transform organizations co-creating an impact economy -- that which pursues financial returns alongside positive impact for people and planet.

-------------------------------------------

*Humberto Maturana, Ph.D.?(September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was one of Chile's best known author, biologist and philosopher.?Maturana?created the term "autopoiesis" about the self-generating, self-maintaining structure in?living systems, and concepts such as structural determinism, structure coupling, and natural evolutionary drift.?His work was influential in many fields, mainly the field of systems thinking, cybernetic and the biology of cognition. He co-authored several books with Francisco Varela, including?Autopoiesis and Cognition?and The tree of Knowledge, where the quote in the beginning comes from. He co-founded?Matríztica?with Ximena Dávila.

** Francisco Varela, Ph.D.?(September 7, 1946 – May 28, 2001) was a Chilean biologist, philosopher, cybernetician, and neuroscientist who, together with his mentor Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesis to biology, and for co-founding the Mind and Life Institute to promote dialog between science and Buddhism.?

***Dr. Donella H. Meadows, Ph.D. (March 13, 1941 – February 20, 2001) was an author, environmental scientist, educator,?and an inspiring leader. A Pew Scholar in Conservation and Environment and a MacArthur Fellow, she was one of the most influential environmental thinkers of the twentieth century. After receiving a Ph.D in biophysics from Harvard, she joined a team at MIT applying the relatively new tools of system dynamics to global problems. She became the principal author of The Limits to Growth (1972), which sold more than 9 million copies in 26 languages. She went on to author or co-author eight other books, including?Thinking in Systems.