Imagine that one were to hold up a large mirror to our entire species. How might we react? This blog challenges us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world. I developed the concept of a “six-word drawing” in the tradition of Ernest Hemingway’s legendary “six-word stories.” The efficacy of a six-word drawing is juxtaposing an image with a six-word title and narrative to capture complex ideas. The title may play on words, such as the intentional misspelling of “mane” in the Old English phrase “might and main”—the cat being a metaphor for Nature’s power in this six-word drawing.
Nature Reigns with “Might and Mane” is a six-word drawing about human hubris. Our ability to develop technologies and complex social systems has enabled us to transcend population constraints that limit
other species, perhaps until now. Does our clever nature and hubris blind us to the possibility that natural systems are more resilient than our socioeconomic systems? Our inability to manage the global commons exhibits the characteristics of a “tragedy of the commons,” as described by Garret Hardin. Climate change has become what Kelly Levin and others refer to as a “super wicked problem.”
Humans are both part of the problem and custodians of the solution—a healthy relationship with Nature—yet many of us see ourselves as apart from Nature, and we cannot agree on a path forward. Our species needs a shared vision—transformational nature-centered leadership. The six-word drawings in this series are part of that transformation by challenging us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world.
© 2022 12 12 - Six-Word Drawing by Spencer S. Stober
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