“Fractal Responsibility”
I have been reading adrienne marie brown's book Emergent Strategy and letting her concept of "fractal responsibility" metabolize...
"How we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale. The patterns of the universe repeat at scale. There is a structural echo that suggests two things: one, that there are shapes and patterns fundamental to our universe, and two, that what we practice at a small scale can reverberate to the largest scale." - adrienne marie brown
The micro is a reflection of the macro, the vast a reflection of the tiny. A pattern reflected in a stalk of broccoli, its floret, the hundreds of miniature florets. We exist within patterns, and we can also influence these patterns.
What does this mean in the realm of our money, our personal financial world? Or more broadly, our economy?
Well, what if we internalized the potential of this reverberation...
What if we held the same intention with a $10 bill that we did with $1,000? What was emotionally present the last time $10 passed through your hands? Or $1,000?
What patterns are we reinforcing for ourselves with each dollar we earn, save, spend, or share? Which patterns are we reinforcing within the collective?
To me, the concept of fractals holds the tension of possibility and responsibility. We can practice at the small scale what we want to impact at the larger scale.
For ourselves, this means it is imperative we save one dollar with the same enthusiasm and vision of possibility as we would if it were a hundred. With this approach we step into the space of pattern reverberation, where our small actions really do make a difference even if our minds say it won't. We practice for the day we have more, trusting that in time we will.
At each end of the tiny-to-vast spectrum it is easy to color any action as futile.
It is easy to feel powerless in this 'late stage capitalism' economy where a Bezos can make a million times more in a year than the median Amazon salary. It is easy to feel rage, then throw up our hands in defeat and exasperation. It is harder to look at our own participation.
The concept of fractals remind me how alive and interconnected our actions are within the whole, that my actions matter, that we are responsible to the whole.
With this orientation we are held to the question... am I paying the babysitter enough? The person who cleans my home*? The subcontractor who works for my business?
The question you can courageously explore is this - How is this same pattern [insert topic of outrage] reflected in my own life? How can I step into and practice a new pattern going forward, a pattern that could positively reverberate outward? Possibly way beyond me?
I invite you, your friends, and your loved ones to remember how much influence we each hold to shift both our individual and collective realities. Please forward this post to one or two friends you want to have this conversation with, the ones you want to help hold this concept of 'fractal responsibility'.
The way forward is together, flapping our butterfly wings to see what kind of beautiful storm we can generate.
*MAID - Netflix Series about a single mother who leaves an abusive relationship and begins cleaning houses. The math in the upper right hand corner of the screen is poignant and brilliant storytelling.
Embracing Pleasure, Fractal Responsibility, and the Power of Our Imagination - Podcast with adrienne marie brown + Tami Simon
Emergent Stragey **- adrienne marie brown
The Life-Altering Differences Between White and Black Debt - The Ezra Klein Show, (a required listen in my opinion)
Scene on Radio - The Repair A podcast look at the US and the historical roots of Climate Change
If Women Rose Rooted **- Sharon Blackie
**These are links to an awesome alternative to Amazon called Bookshop.org which supports local bookstores. I have set up some lists of titles you may appreciate. It is an affiliate link and I receive a small commission for any completed purchase. This is an example of a generative model of how we can do things a little differently - supporting ourselves and others at the same time.