There is a golden field between my house and my neighbor’s house that connects our backyards. The field is fairly empty now but in the past it has been home to a cow, then a horse, then wild blackberry vines. When my daughter was young she’d jump the fence to visit the girls who lived in the house at the other end of the field. I had a good feeling about this family, although we lived in different worlds and had almost no contact. 40+ years later my neighbor and I connected at the fence as she tore down the blackberry bushes travelling from her property to mine. We talked about what is happening in our country with health care removal and victimization of immigrants. She told me that her daughter will be greatly affected by the cuts to Medicaid since she is the full time caregiver for her disabled son. We talked about building a tiny house in the field for her daughter so she could have a place to live rent free. I had my neighbor over for dinner the other night to connect her with another neighbor I’ve become friends with who lives on my street.

This all sounds pretty innocent, even boring, but this connecting is actually an act of rebellion. Pandora’s box has been opened, setting free rampant greed, hatred and ignorance in an effort to divide us while grabbing power. So many people on both sides are buying into the divisive ruse and the evils are so terrifying it’s easy to forget our countries long history of generosity, kindness and forward thinking. When hate and division is fomented, love and connection become revolutionary. When greed is fomented, generosity becomes an act of rebellion. The powers that be try to anger us so we’ll revolt in the streets. Then they can then crack down and develop a more authoritarian state. They are not expecting us to unite in friendliness, to support and protect one another and act with radical kindness.

In the field of biomimicry nature’s systems are studied and imitated in order to solve problems we are dealing with in our human realm. In nature, the gossamer threads of mycelium that cover the earth are strong, not because they are large, dominating and threatening, but because they are pervasive and adaptive. They move quietly through the ground under out feet supporting the land. They serve as highways for communication between plants, remaining invisibly underground while sending up emissaries in the form of mushrooms. Micellium are decentralized and do not draw attention to themselves. As we are now facing a breakdown of society we can learn how to form strong, resilient societies from mycilium, one neighbor at a time.

We have the option to get creative and approach the seemingly impossible situation we find ourselves in from an unexpected angle. Mankind has been in a state of break down before, demigods have risen up and fallen, fear and ignorance in the form of religious imperative has raised its head, mighty empires have developed then collapsed and still what is good about humanity has managed to forge a path through this history. We will get through this, hopefully better, but it’s not going to be pleasant. We need to be here for one another.

I used to think I needed to do big things to make a difference. Big things are great, but many little things can shift the narrative gently and firmly.  I look to history, to nature and to mycelium for inspiration about the power of small changes. We can’t possibly know the outcome of this upheaval we find ourselves in, but building supportive community and increasing kindness to both strangers and those in our everyday lives may be surprisingly helpful and, at the very least, does no harm.