Connected Wisdom: Living Stories about Living Systems

Tales adapted for SEED by systems educator Linda Booth Sweeney

CONNECTED WISDOM VIDEO LIBRARY What is Systems Thinking? Connected Wisdom and Global Issues Principles of Systems Thinking

There is a lot of talk these days about how everything is connected to everything else. Most of the time these connections are hard to see. But we now know that the kind of car I drive in Boston, Massachusetts, may affect the health of polar bears in the Arctic. Whether they’re found in nature, your body, your family, your organization, or your country, these interconnected networks are called living systems. Living systems are all around us. When you work on a SEED project—for example, a water project—you are deeply engaged with many living systems, including your local river, canal, lake, or watershed, as well as your school and community.

Why learn about the laws of living systems through folktales? Folk wisdom—whether it comes from the myths and tales of ancient Greeks, early Africans, fifth-century Chinese philosophers, or Buddhist masters or from the sages of Native American and other cultures—has long been a way to pass on wisdom from one generation to the next. Many folktales and myths, including those in Connected Wisdom, were used by the ancients to explain and understand the physical world around them.

We invite you to explore, through timeless folktales and modern examples, how the principles that guide living systems can also guide how we live and learn. Here are 12 folktales from around the world that are adapted to illustrate the different principles influencing how nature works.

Introduction
Interdependence		Living Cycles
Systems Integrity		Waste = Food
Biodiversity		Balancing Feedback
Cooperation and Partnership		Reinforcing Feedback
Rightness of Size		Nonlinearity
The Commons		Earth Time
Appendix A: More Principles of Living Systems Appendix B: Finding the Folktales Appendix C: Book Notes
Submit Your Own Stories As you read Connected Wisdom, you will become familiar with the living systems principles that the folktales illustrate. Are there folktales from your culture that may also bring these systems ideas to life? Read on to find out how to download an invitation to submit your stories.