Today, we will receive a lesson from broccoli and ferns.
This lesson comes from adrienne maree brown, who draws powerful analogies between the fractals in nature—like broccoli and ferns—and our own actions. She reminds us that even our smallest actions can have a big impact, building up over time to create meaningful change on a larger scale. You can read more about this in her book Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds.
She writes:
“A fractal is a never-ending pattern. Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different scales. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop.
“How we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale. The patterns of the universe repeat at scale. There is a structural echo that suggests two things: one, that there are shapes and patterns fundamental to our universe, and two, that what we practice at a small scale can reverberate to the largest scale…
“And this may be the most important element to understand — that what we practice at the small scale sets the patterns for the whole system.”
She continues:
“Grace [Lee Boggs] articulated it in what might be the most-used quote of my life: ‘Transform yourself to transform the world.’ This doesn’t mean to get lost in the self, but rather to see our own lives and work and relationships as a front line, a first place where we can practice justice, liberation, and alignment with each other and the planet.”
—adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds, pages 51-53
There are times when we feel like our contributions to change are so small that they seem insignificant, barely making a dent in the barriers around us. This can be discouraging and disheartening. But I wonder if some of the larger injustices we face are, in part, a reflection of how these same injustices play out on a smaller, daily scale within our communities? We can participate in shifting this, even in small but vital way, by saying “No” to the everyday harms we encounter. By making small but consequential changes in our daily interactions, we can interrupt these patterns of harm on a larger scale.
If we want to build a new way forward, we need to practice it at every scale, including in our personal relationships and day-to-day actions. We won’t do this perfectly, but if we remain committed, we can return to this practice again and again, each time making a bit more space for change.
Be encouraged, friends. Your actions matter, no matter how small they feel. Who you are and what you do makes a difference in shaping the world.
— Renee Roederer
I also want to thank Rose Schrott Taylor, Digital Content Editor, at the Presbyterian Outlook magazine, who wrote last week about adrienne maree brown and fractals in a weekly email. I appreciated that piece, and it encouraged me to share about this here too.
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Additionally, February is Black History Month, and this is an excellent time to celebrate and learn from Black disability activists and advocates who have shaped our communities, nation, and world. This month, I will share here about some of them.
“Lois Curtis is an influential Black artist and disability activist with intellectual and developmental disabilities and schizophrenia. She spent a large part of her early adult life living in an institution despite her care team stating she could live in the community. She is best known as the famous plaintiff LC in the landmark Supreme Court case ‘Olmstead vs L.C.’ which ended unjustified segregation of people with disabilities and established the right for people with disabilities to live independently in their communities as opposed to in institutions. Her lifelong advocacy has impacted the lives of many Americans and got her invited to the White House under the Obama administration.”
Smuggling Grace 