Four resources power somatic state.
Whether they push us towards reaction or nourishment, the inputs that produce our state are consistent.
We can build our own lives on these inputs, and we can also build businesses that cultivate them.
The four resources.
Here's the simple list. We unpack it below.
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The Body
The source of all experience, including the mind.
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Community
Safety and meaning that comes from human connection.
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Nature
Life and rhythms that put humans in context.
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Meaning
A stable purpose that guides how we live and die.
Each resource, two ways.
All four resources can be either spent down in reaction, or built up through nourishment.
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Reactive
Most default reactions to overwhelm and discomfort. Drinking, drugs, eating unhealthy food, doomscrolling, and compulsive screen-based entertainment. Activities that feel good in the moment, and have a hangover effect.
Nourished
Healthy & well-prepared food, physical movement, intentional breath, meditation and other relaxation techniques. Activities where we lose ourselves in a flow state. Requires more intention than the reactive response.
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Reactive
One pattern is withdrawing from in-person social interaction, especially to online containers. A second pattern is communities formed on reactivity, like grievance, hostility, elitism, status obsession, dominance, hedonism, or escapism.
Nourished
Human connection that transcends labels while celebrating diversity of experience. Generally also involves connection to body, nature, and some level of purpose, though community can still somewhat nourish absent these (e.g. a neighborhood bar).
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Reactive
Mode one: disconnection from the earth, especially by retreating to reactive treatment of the body. Mode two: pure extraction of the earth (while, ironically, often still escaping to nature to recharge).
Nourished
Anything that gets us outside in a state of joy, from a walk in the park to a backpacking trip. Can also include activities to cultivate and restore nature, like gardening or restoring nature.
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Reactive
Outsourcing meaning to status symbols, especially money. Deferring the search for meaning until some future financial windfall. Attaching meaning to victimhood, exceptionalism, or dominance. Cynicism or nihilism.
Nourished
Meaning tied to a higher purpose anchored in compassion and flourishing. Capable of surviving the death of "I". Known in the body, not just narratively or intellectually. The foundation for faith in a higher purpose, regardless what we call that purpose.
Find nourishment.
