Every time we look at our watches to see the time, we experience how it is fragmented. However, it seems that not only we fragment time, but also our thinking. Time to think about reverting this situation.
Let me share an example of fragmented thinking. I recently read in New Scientist that a report on the state of nature around the world conclude that ” transforming our civilization to make it more sustainable will require more connected thinking.” And the reason why, said chair Robert Watson about the way people approach sustainable thinking, is “there’s a very fragmented approach. We’ve got to think about all these things in a much more holistic way.” This reminded me about a fundamental characteristic of our universe: relationality.
Maybe it’s time to recognize the need for greater awareness of developing our relational thinking. It is more than thinking together. It is acknowledging the contribution of the other as necessary as ours, and discover that the best idea could not be ours or the other’s, but the idea which emerges from the relation between both.
We may keep ideas to ourselves, but don’t we run the risk of following a bad idea? We can also learn by ourselves to distinguish good from bad ideas, but only by sharing them with others and receiving feedback can we ever expect to improve this skill. The underlying reason for concluding we must think in more holistic ways is the same as the universe fundamental characteristic: relationality.