Why "Regeneration"

May 2022. Originally published in Spanish in "El Colombiano" by Juliana Gutiérrez

Humans are constantly regenerating cells: every minute, between 30,000 and 40,000 skin cells are regenerated; the liver can fully regenerate with only 25% of its tissue, and eyelashes go through regenerative processes every three months. Plants and animals share this vital function. For instance, the axolotl, an endemic Mexican salamander, can regrow its tail if lost, and hemicordates, a type of worm, can completely regenerate their heads if severed. Another example is the hydra, a freshwater invertebrate predator, which regenerates its cells every 20 days. Plants also possess astonishing regenerative abilities; roots, stems, and leaves can fully regenerate. I recall my grandmother offering, "Take a little piece" when admiring her plants, and soon that little piece would flourish into a beautiful garden. Forests also regenerate from seeds that fall and sprout in the same location.

A few months ago, I underwent surgery that required some incisions. Over time, as a rainbow of red, purple, green, and yellow appeared on the affected area, the wounds healed, new skin grew, and my health gradually returned. My body was experiencing a vital function present in all forms of life: a process of regeneration. It hasn't been different when I've healed emotional matters; time comforts the spirit, and a more conscious version of myself has emerged from each pain.

Healing, repairing, or replacing damaged tissue is what science calls regeneration—a natural process where cells, tissues, organs, or even damaged or missing parts are replaced or restored to function fully or give life to others. Beyond delving into the biology of existence, understanding this regenerative pattern present in life forms acknowledges that we are part of the same system—a system that is interconnected and interdependent. There are no real boundaries. No matter how small an organism may be, it is connected to a larger system, contributing value to it.

Connections

The epitome of this interconnectedness is the story of wolves in Yellowstone, a U.S. national park that, when declared in 1872, did not prohibit hunting, leading to the wolves' extinction in a short time. Subsequently, the park lost its vegetation as the moose population grew exponentially, and no species control program worked. In 1995, after years of debates, research, and scientific efforts that understood the concept of umbrella species—those whose existence signifies ecosystem balance and their entire food chain—the park reintroduced wolves. This mammoth mission involved gray wolves found in the forests of Canada, transported to Wyoming and Montana, where the park is located. What seemed like a miracle, but was actually an understanding of the ecosystem, allowed the reintroduction of wolves to regulate the food chain again. As ecosystem predators, the wolves reduced the moose population, regenerated the vegetation, and brought the park back to life. 

A closer example in South América is the jaguar, considered sacred by ancestral communities. It is the largest feline in America and an umbrella species that not only regulates the population of around 85 species it preys on but also indicates the health and well-being of an ecosystem, including those that provide the water we consume. In the  region I live, the bird Atlapetes blancae, commonly known as "montañerito paisa," serves a similar role. With the endangered existence of this small bird in the highland ecosystem of northern Antioquia in Colombia, its presence symbolizes the regulation of the water cycle, food, and energy production that reaches the Aburrá Valley.

Understanding these examples of interdependence and interconnectedness allows us to assert human interference in the natural cycles and vital balances of the present. Due to human activities, 68% of the world's biodiversity has been lost, meaning that 68% of species that played a role in ecosystem balance are gone. These imbalances manifest today in climate change, air and water pollution, soil degradation, and more.

When Did We Disconnect?

In the evolution of different forms of human organization, we have promoted a narrative of separation: the feminine from the masculine, the left hemisphere of the brain from the right, the self, the ego, humanity from nature, rural from urban, individual from collective, mind from body. We built a binary world, black and white, with political borders fragmenting nature—a world of extremes that ignores the complexity and diversity inherent in systems. In short, we forgot to see the whole and not just the parts, and we attempted to solve humanity's grand challenges in a fragmented manner.

This disconnection is undoubtedly one of the root causes not only of the irreversible ecological crisis but also of the social crisis, resulting in unmet basic human needs such as food, housing, health, employment, among others. Moreover, this disconnection and interference suggest, from a scientific perspective, that nature and some life-sustaining ecosystems can no longer regenerate naturally or at the speed they once did due to deforestation, land-use changes for livestock and expansive agriculture, and mining. For example, in Colombia, 500 hectares of forest are lost every day, equivalent to almost 500 soccer fields and millions of ecological connections that enable our well-being have been destroyed.

In this sense, it is worth considering a redesign of human systems to connect and foster an integrative and healing narrative with the whole. This implies a paradigm shift mediated by individual consciousness changes; just as I can naturally regenerate my body's functions, I can also do so with my feelings and thoughts. As sociologist Orlando Fals and anthropologist Arturo Escobar express it, "sentipensar," "reason and science are not exclusive in the construction of worlds or their interpretation since they are also done through the senses, from the heart."

The discourse and practice of sustainability have made significant contributions to the development of a planetary consciousness and a universal language to reduce impacts and promote a development that does not compromise the resources of future generations. However, how can we promote regenerative systems that heal the damage we have caused?

Answering this question involves migrating toward a regenerative consciousness, leading to transformations from the individual level and extending to the collective—home, neighborhood, business, city, bioregion. Connecting with and healing oneself, promoting healing relationships with others, collectives, ecosystems, and the overarching system that connects us, placing at the center an ancestral model of thinking and feeling or in spanish "sentipensamiento": life and the care of life in all its forms, the only possible paradigm for an evolving civilization that is currently anthropocentric.

How to promote regenerative systems that heal the damage caused?

While there is no single regenerative model and no magic formula, there are hopeful examples across various disciplines and scales that share a common goal: not only to leave the places we inhabit better than we found them in terms of ecosystems, biodiversity, and culture, but also to promote systemic, healing, and cooperative relationships. One such example is the Bahamas, where 50% of the GDP comes from tourism, making it one of the sectors most vulnerable to ecological crises. Coral reefs, which support ocean life, are dying due to diseases, pollution, overfishing, and heat stress. Faced with this challenge, entrepreneurs in collaborating with the hotel industry, researchers, the community, and the government are working on coral regeneration and reforestation. While doing so, they not only attract tourists to learn about the ecosystem and plant corals but also consider redistributive models to ensure community access to basic needs.

Under the model of "sentipensamiento", we can become more attentive to listening to nature, understanding its patterns, and incorporating them into daily life at both the personal and human system levels. Ideally, these systems should be collaborative, regenerative, and redistributive, measuring their progress based on well-being rather than focusing on partial measures like GDP.

If our health depends on the health of ecosystems, we can generate health instead of merely treating illness. In this sense, it is insufficient to think solely about vaccines for Covid-19, which is believed to be a zoonotic virus resulting from human interference in ecosystems, while we continue to deforest habitats that provide us with health benefits and prevent future pandemics. Today, we need to move away from narratives of separation and from addressing systemic challenges with piecemeal solutions. It's impossible to address hunger without considering issues such as pollination, human health, soil and ecosystem health, consumption patterns, food waste, production methods, ecological footprint, resource redistribution and access, land ownership, among others.

If we attempt to observe the nearest tree, what do we see, what do we feel? Understanding the systemic approach to life, interdependence, and interconnectedness will occur when, in addition to seeing a tree, we perceive oxygen, water, nutrients, carbon, food, insects, the habitat for other species, dyes, inputs for the pharmaceutical or cosmetic industry, medicines, health, and well-being. We may be missing entire universes and opportunities for evolution when we only see a tree.