Hartstongue - An Ecologist's I Ching: Element and Aspect

Ecology sees our world as an ever-changing web of energy and matter. Patterns appear and disappear. Life grows and dies. We look at our world through the lenses, each lens illuminates an aspect of the whole. These notes, inspired by the I Ching, look at a selection of contrasting ideas which can help us to act mindfully in our world.

Element.

Elements are building blocks, numbers built from digits, words built from letters, chemicals built from elements.

Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium and iron. These are the most common chemical elements in our bodies. All are necessary for life. In some forms they can be poisonous, but without them we would sicken and die. Each element has its ecological cycle, moving through the earth, the air, and the oceans.

If we see a chemical element in two ends of a chain then we know that all the links between them must contain that same element. Take calcium, we know that cows and cow’s milk contain calcium. We know that the chalk in the hills of East Devon contains calcium. So, calcium must also be present in the grassland plants on which our cattle graze.

Each cycle also has a role to play in world climate. Around 80% of the carbon stored in the earth’s crust is in limestone in calcium carbonate. Marine organisms make their shells from calcium, oxygen and carbon. These shells sink to the bottom of the seas and slowly (over millions of years) layer upon layer of seashell becomes chalk. Over hundreds of millions of years chalk becomes limestone. This process reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

Aspect.

Aspects are nuances of interconnected systems.

Aspects of human health could include physical, mental, emotional, social, financial, spiritual or many other aspects. Physical health depends on what we eat and how much we exercise. Mental health can be aided by exercise, but poor mental health can make us unwilling to exercise. Love can help us conquer our fears. Fear can make us unwilling to love. Our place within our cultures and societies also affects our health. Equalities can limit our access to clean water or rewarding work. Our place within the financial economy can limit our choices. Spiritual paths can free from mental slavery, but people have also used spiritual paths to enslave others.

Each of these aspects of human health are interconnected. A change in one aspect will ripple through connected aspects. Aspects are ways of seeing parts of the whole. Just as each of our senses shows us a small window of the world, each aspect highlights part of a situation.

Element and Aspect

By weaving elements and aspects, we learn.

When I stand in a wood as an ecologist I know and feel many things. I know the trees are carbon and oxygen and hydrogen. I know the trees are cellulose and lignin and chlorophyll. I know that in day and night, carbon dioxide and water is converted to sugar and oxygen. These are all elements of a forest.

I feel the wind on my face. I feel sunlight warming my face. I hear the rustle of leaves. I hear the songs and scolds of birds. I smell the leaf litter beneath my feet. I see many different leaves. I see many different trees, each species different, each individual tree with its individual history. Do I feel joy? Do I feel safe or afraid? Do I feel the spirit of something larger than myself? Do I feel moved to protect? Do I feel sad and trapped that my parent’s forest must be felled to feed my children? These are all aspects of forest.