A friend of mine bought me a book called Design In Nature as a thank you gift recently.  (It’s nice having fellow nerd friends.)

In it, the author explain constructal law, the idea that everything in nature evolves…well, here:

“For a finite-size system to persist in time (to live), it must evolve in such a way that it provides easier access to the imposed currents that flow through it.”

I’ve had this reoccurring visual of the author taking everything in the world from rivers to possums and cramming it all into a clown car, and letting it all tumble out as this theory.  To him, the organization of a tree is no different than that of a lung, river, lightning bolt, or the flow of money – the branching similarities of all these varying forms is one result of finding the most efficient, sustainable route, whether it is air, water or energy.  Every system that persists is the same.

In Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, everything in the world is connected.

Wait, let’s go a step further.  Everything in the world is connected, because everything is one.  The call for compassion, for doing no harm, comes from recognizing that there is no separation between you and the rest of the world, whether it is the person standing next to you on the train, a tree (these guys are popular today, huh?), or an ant.  Compassion for another being is compassion to yourself.

I like the idea of science and religion agreeing on something.

Anyway, I know, heavy for a Monday morning but sort of lovely too, huh?  We’re all on the same freaking life raft. Be nice to your neighbor.  Or at least try.

(The title is from Empire Records.  Yes, constructal law, Buddhism and Empire Records.  This just happened.)