The Beauty of Being a Part of a System

I had a small operation the other day. Here is the story:

One of my wisdom teeth had been growing at a right angle with respect to the one next to it. It had just started breaking into that other tooth. (Despite that, I had no pain, which was fantastic.) They recommended it to be taken out. I thought that is a good idea, considering it could cause problems and discomfort at some point in the future. And so we (I and my mom) chose a day, called the doctors and made all necessary arrangements.

The day came. I was quite nervous the night before, even though I knew all was going to be fine. I mean, I am healthy, all is ok with me, why do I have to go through this? I had to trust the doctors. At the end of the day, sometimes that is all we can do: trust and love our fellow people.

The operation went very well. The doctors were brilliant. They gave me local anesthetic and started working. They first cut into the gum, and then into the bone. They did not cut out any pieces, which was great I was told (and I am sure very happy about it!). It was hard work for them (two of them, working on me!) and hard work also for me. Although I did not feel any pain, there was quite some pressure being put on my jaw. They said I have a delicate jaw, and so were careful.

The tooth would not come out at first, but in the end they pulled it out. Wonderfully shaped thing, just growing the wrong way. Then they put a couple of stitches, and the operation was over. They said it went very well and that there was going to be no swelling (and there hasn’t been). Knowing their job well, they could foresee how the case was going to develop.

I could not feel my mouth and jaw for a while afterwards, off course. Then when I could, I was crying because of the pain. Then, my mom made me a painkiller cocktail and I was fine. I am still not able to open my mouth fully, but after a few days, that will be gone, too.

So why am I telling you all this? Throughout the operation, the doctors were talking, and asking me questions. One of them was: ”What do you do? What is your job?”. ”I do organisational development.” I said. ”I work with the UN and International Organisations.”. ”You have a complicated job.”, they said. They knew nothing about it, just as I knew nothing about dentistry, and pulling out (very difficult!) wisdom teeth.

And so there I was, totally vulnerable and relying on their skill and expertise. I know exactly how (I’d like to think) to go about most sustainable development and/or knowledge management puzzles, but I know nothing about wisdom teeth puzzles. I am very happy they knew, because in that moment, all I knew wasn’t worth a penny. They were in charge. They were working on my system and solving the wisdom tooth puzzle. I could not do that. I solve different kinds of puzzles.

In a way, what the doctors knew made possible what I know, and vice versa. They look after me, and I look after them, by working with my clients, and helping them look after the world. We all have a role to play, are related to one another, and depend on each other. I would not be here unless they were too, and vice versa. In the ”developed world”, people would not exist unless the ”developing” world also existed. There would not be consumption unless people had things to consume. There would not be justice unless there was also lack there of.

Our values with respect to and attitudes towards the elements that make our systems define the nature of the relationships among these elements, and from there on, how the systems behave. First, I and my mom chose the best doctors who could pull out difficult teeth. We also chose a good day for the operation (i.e., moon was in the right sign, and waning – medicine astrology knowledge worth considering, and yet another system that is – I tend to think – operating on us). Then, despite I was scared, I managed my fear, I trusted the doctors, and they appreciated that. And all went well and for this I am super happy and grateful.

Systems are beautiful in that they hold us, and keep us together.They give us life, and we give them life. They make us be, and we make them be. System dynamics are something we can give a direction to, in the very least, if we know the system elements and the relationships between these elements, and if we know what we want out of these systems.

We are always in a system, and we should all know about systems. Knowing about systems gives us the power to transform them and do better at the next level (or iteration). It has got to be easy to see, feel and understand systems, because they are all in and around us. All it takes is to look into something as small (although it felt big, I tell you!) as a wisdom tooth and feel the connections between it, us, and everything else.