Remember Ourselves As A Murmuration
IMAGE OF THE WEEK
We are grateful to Rupali Bhuva for offering this hand-made painting for this reading.
The murmuration of birds is one of my favorite phenomena in nature—an occurrence where Starlings flock together with up to hundreds of thousands at once to create complex patterns in motion.
The sheer synchronicity that takes place between so many birds at once is one of nature’s miracles. Scientists a little over ten years ago examined the behavior of these birds in order to understand the phenomenon deeper—and what they found was incredible.
Although the birds are in a flock of hundreds or more, they are only basing their movements and behavior on the 7 neighboring birds around them. And perhaps this is another reminder of nature’s inherently communal blueprint.
As a species, there are billions of us on Earth right now—each of different lineages, stories, and places upon the planet. And though we cannot possibly stretch our reach to billions of people at once, it is the impact we have on our direct communities that creates a humanitarian murmuration for change—for stability, for survival.
Even down to our cellular biology, isolation is not the baseline. Quorum sensing is the communication that occurs between bacteria through chemical signals and this intracellular dialogue is what improves the metabolic function of bacteria—a sharing of resources to ensure all systems are cared for.
And even more fascinating, we are now understanding that Quorum sensing goes beyond cell communication, but even into plant-immune responses, ant and honey bee nesting behavior, and schools of fish.
The fabric of nature carries transformational answers for humanity as we have never been separate from our own creation story, no matter how far we may have drifted. But breaking down the walls between ourselves, Mother Earth, and the cosmos at large also requires us to break down the barriers between one another.
We have been operating from a behavioral function that is foreign to our genetic makeup—every man for himself, disjointed communities, and convenience over truly living as co-creators of nature.
Yet nature is encouraging us each day to remember ourselves as a murmuration—to exist as our blueprint intended, together.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What do you make of the notion that our interactions within small groups can create a larger collective impact akin to a "humanitarian murmuration" for change and survival? Can you share a personal story that highlights a time when participating in a close-knit community led to a significant and positive transformation in your life or the lives of others? What helps you foster a sense of connection and cooperation within your immediate community to align more closely with nature's inherently communal blueprint?