Modern human societies have, to a significant extent, come to perceive themselves as separate from Nature. In some contexts, Nature has been reduced to a resource base — something to be used, managed, extracted from or possessed — rather than a living world of which human beings are an inseparable part.
This perception of separation is not universal. Many Indigenous Knowledge Systems retain more relational understandings of the human place within the living world. In these views, people, animals, plants, soil, water and other elements of Nature are understood through mutual relationships of connection, reciprocity, responsibility and interdependence. Our bodies themselves reflect this interdependence. The matter that we are made from is continuously exchanged with the wider living world through air, water, soil and other organisms. We are not outside Nature; we are part of it.
The question guiding my postdoctoral research concerns the ways we perceive the world and how those perceptions shape the ways we live within it. My cross-cultural observation shows that to see is not necessarily to know: each of us carries different “pictures in our heads”, shaped by experience, culture, memory and assumption. These pictures can reinforce the idea that human beings exist separately from Nature. Some cultural and religious traditions have placed humanity in a hierarchical position above other forms of life. Yet whatever our perceptions may tell us, our material reality is different. We breathe the air. We drink the water. We depend upon soil. We eat plants and other living organisms. We live within ecological systems that sustain us. We may imagine ourselves as separate from Nature, but we cannot live outside it. We are part of Nature, and Nature is not merely the environment around us — it is the living web of which we are members.
The important question is therefore: What kind of relationship do we choose to have with the living world of which we are a part? I have explored this question through eight harmony lessons and compiled the booklet Perception, Purpose and Principles of Harmony: The Golden Rule for a Sustainable Future (2022).
For generations, human societies have expressed ethical responsibility through some form of the Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would wish to be treated.” This maxim is effective only when it is enacted, not merely preached.
Most importantly, why limit Golden rule to humans alone? What happens if “others” are understood to include not only other human beings, but the living beings and systems that sustain us? When I observe predators in Nature, for instance, I see an ecological interaction in which one organism meets a biological need, rather than an act motivated by anger or malice in the human sense. Human violence is different: human beings possess the capacity to reflect upon consequences, exercise restraint and choose how they treat others. Treating others with violence is the opposite of the golden rule. If we recognise our kinship with other forms of life, we may be less likely to harm them carelessly. Reinstating this recognition as a practical 21st-century extension of the Golden Rule asks us to acknowledge relationship where we have been taught to see separation, and to understand that what happens to the wider living world ultimately has consequences for human life as well. A duty of care towards Nature is an ethical imperative.
The Harmony Beads are a small reminder to tread more lightly on this planet. The ethical minimum might be expressed as: if we cannot actively contribute to the wellbeing of Nature, can we at least choose not to cause harm?
Decoding the Harmony Beads
Their origin goes back to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Grateful for every new day, I made a 21-bead bracelet for myself. I used five natural stones to represent aspects of being alive in a human body:
* Blood-red — I woke up
* Clear — I can breathe
* Blue — I have safe water
* Green — I have enough food
* Yellow — I feel inner joy
I subsequently made eleven more bracelets for friends, asking each recipient to make a small donation to someone in need within their own community. These were sent to Sweden (2), Tanzania (1), the UK (5) and the USA (3). Together, those contributions raised £140 for various causes.
The new Harmony Beads are organised around five fundamental relationships within the living world.
Black
Soil — We belong to the earth
Soil is part of the living systems upon which we stand! Our food, ecosystems and human life depend on it. Much of what we are comes from the earth and will return to it.
White
Air — We share breath
Every breath is an exchange with the world around us. Air reminds us that there is no absolute boundary between ourselves and our environment.
Blue
Water — We are interconnected
Water is the medium of life. It moves through oceans, soil, plants, animals and our own bodies, carrying nutrients, sustaining life and connecting one living system to another.
Green
Plants — We are interdependent
Plants, together with algae and cyanobacteria, are primary producers that capture energy from the sun and store it in forms that can support the wider web of life. Without photosynthetic processes, the vast majority of life as we know it could not be sustained.
Gold
Animals — We are interrelated
Animals are fellow participants in the living world with whom we share the cycles of birth, life and death.
Making the invisible relationships visible
The Harmony Beads are meant to interrupt, even briefly, the assumption that human beings exist independently of the world around them. They translate an abstract idea into an everyday object: we live within relationships that we did not create and cannot live without. I created a physical object because, although we live in an age of an extraordinary amount of information — with access to scientific data, ecological reports, photographs, documentaries and educational material almost instantly — this information does not necessarily translate into changed perception or changed behaviour. Sometimes what is needed is not more information, but a tangible reminder. The Harmony Beads are designed for that space between knowing and doing.
The Harmony Beads do not claim to provide the solution to the ecological crisis. They offer a prompt to remember what we already know and they are intended for everyone — regardless of status, wealth, age, profession, nationality or geography — because we all share a home and have a duty of care for our precious planet. We can try to see ourselves in others. We can actively practise care where we can. And where we cannot do more to contribute to common flourishing, we can at least intentionally choose not to cause harm — through our thoughts, our words and our deeds.
May the Harmony Beads™ remind us: we are not separate from Nature. We are Nature and our choices matter.