Part One. Revolution of the Heart. Chapter 2: Nature and Us

Let’s take a short break from the hustle and bustle of life in the postmodern, self-entitlement-inflicted age and see where the concept of mutual guarantee comes from. Deep in the heart of the vast universe lies a spiral galaxy of no particular distinction. Within it is an average-looking star with planets and asteroids surrounding it, like numerous other stars in the universe...

A deeper examination of Nature unveils the profound bond that sustains it. Each element complements other elements and serves them, as demonstrated by the food chain: Plants feed on minerals, herbivores feed on plants, and carnivores feed on herbivores. This chain contains myriad sub-chains that together form the entire food chain. In the food chain, every element affects every other element, and any change in one of them will affect every other element in the chain...

As we have seen, Nature consists of reciprocal connections that create balance, congruence, and harmony. But humans do not operate in this reciprocal manner, neither among themselves nor between themselves and Nature. Therefore, since humans are a part of Nature, their lack of congruence with it and among themselves throws the entire system off balance, as the previous example of the orcas demonstrated. While the whole of Nature follows the principle of mutual guarantee—give what you can and receive what you need—humans operate to the contrary—take what you can and give what you must. We humans exploit one another, and all of us as humanity exploit Nature. Indeed, we have nearly depleted our planet of its resources...

Balance is the name of the game in Nature. It is the state to which Nature aspires to bring all its elements. The only reason why any substance or object moves or changes is its “aspiration” to restore balance. That aspiration creates such phenomena as wind, spreading of heat into cooler areas, the flow of water toward lower grounds, and many other phenomena. In living organisms, a state of balance is called “homeostasis” (from Greek, hómoios, “similar” and stásis, “standing still”). Webster’s dictionary defines homeostasis as “A relatively stable state of equilibrium or a tendency toward such a state between the different but interdependent elements or groups of elements of an organism, population, or group”...

Now that human egoism is posing a threat to our existence, we are faced with two choices. We can sit idly, let Nature take its course, and wait for troubles to knock on our door before we contemplate how to address them. Or, we can take action and assume responsibility for our future. Today the human race can still advance toward balance and harmony with Nature, and toward sustainable prosperity. All we need is to implement the approach of mutual guarantee, thus becoming synchronized with Nature...