Seeking Homeostasis
Ari Mostov
Narrative Strategist | Deep Tech Storytelling + Comms | Crafting Irresistible Futures
All systems, from the biological to the societal, inherently seek equilibrium — homeostasis is not just a biological imperative but a foundational principle across entities, including humans and organizations. These tumultuous times have deepened my reflections on this pursuit of balance, especially as we face changes that challenge our very perceptions of reality and possibility.
Change is daunting, particularly when it disrupts everything we thought we knew. Our belief systems, frameworks, and institutional structures are currently being tested, often feeling like a precarious tower of Jenga blocks mid-collapse. How do we find stability when there seems to be none?
Safety and security are crucial for our survival, yet as beings capable of profound emotional and intellectual responses, we’re now confronting unprecedented levels of overwhelm. Our existing mental models are failing, thrusting us into chaos. Yet, it is precisely here, in this disarray, that we uncover our true capacities.
Homeostasis might be our default, our safe state, but when disturbed, it compels us to adapt, innovate, and ultimately evolve. Our resilience is remarkable, our creativity boundless. When old paradigms fail, we are faced with a choice: succumb to the chaos or harness the new possibilities born from destruction.
Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin, inseparable and equally vital. Let’s embrace this dynamic as our quest for homeostasis, seizing possibility and innovation.
What will we create in our search for new balance?
Ari Mostov is a narrative strategist. Learn more at wellplay.world
Professor, Researcher, Designer
21 小时前I appreciate the effort to be future focused and my plan B is a succulent farm back in my village, but existential death is likely hard to reduce to a composting metaphor. People like me may also die if healthcare is further compromised and it will not be up to me decide what will come of that. Thousands of people are losing jobs and healthcare access. Grief takes a very long time to compost, especially if you are the one being composted. The status quo also contains irreplaceable and invaluable parts of the system. If you take enough out, your compost may not have enough things to be usable or sustainable for new life to spring.
Professor, Researcher, Designer
1 天前Oh! Ari. So painful. The opposite of homeostasis is death. Many will be unable to evolve and adapt to this new research landscape reality. We're grieving for the things that we know will die, and while people may turn to other jobs and activities to sustain themselves, the US will be less safe and less healthy. Perhaps innovation will come from other countries now who will maybe double down and fill in, but that will take years and decades and meantime a generation of scientists new and old in the US will perish. I grew up in Greece, which sustains a massive and constant brain drain as its science enterprise is far too small for the number of people it educates and graduates. My country also features an astounding amount of corruption and instability, which propels people to leave if they can. This is why I left. This is why my parents left before me. We return to vacation, retire, and die. This is a terrible feeling - to have a home in which you cannot thrive. Many countries have this problem. The US has just now added itself to the list. American scientists will try to leave and compete in the soup with others in much greater numbers. Meanwhile, what is left will slowly disintegrate until politics change.