The picturesque castle, in the forest. We first think of the sublime, comparing to its past, when it was alive, blossoming, like an ecosystem. But it is also beautiful in the context of the forest, which is reclaiming it into the ecosystem.
This shows how we are always in an aesthetic stream of time. The tendency is to decay, but only because we are predisposed to make choices on the basis of fear. This is the sublime nature of human history.
But we can control the flow of this stream. As in ecosystems, there is just as much growth as there is decay.
We have atavistic genetic material waiting to be reawakened when the opportunity arises, and our conscious ritualing releases the contentment that is within us.
The human landscape is competitive, while ecosystems are cooperative. Sure, there is competition in ecosystems – every species has a few competitors. But the playing field is always level because there is always enough qualia to go around.
By far the most competition goes on among individuals of the same species. That is why there are pecking orders and hierarchical structures, and we humans fit right in to that.
We’ve done some good work leveling our own playing fields but we still cling to the competitive paradigm.
We can change if we look beyond the human landscape, and landscapes in general, and instead take our cues from ecosystems.