The greater whole exists in space, such as your family, neighborhood, and culture, but there is also a greater whole in time. You act in certain ways now because it can guide future generations in their development. A striking example is the way in which parents break their own patterns of education in order to raise their children differently. This prevents destructive patterns of education from being passed on to future generations. Doing something for other people instead of for yourself can give you a lot of energy and moti vation.
We can see how the value of this track lies in breaking down individualism. We need to consider development in terms of relations, ecology, and systems – only then will it be meaningful.
2.4 Multi-tracking as a test for lasting development
The four tracks make up a single whole. Many of the models that address change, solutions, and innovations are single-track models. I choose to use a multi-track model. It allows for a fair share of complexity, which is necessary for truly under- standing lasting development.
The four tracks are in fact different parts of a single whole, running alongside each other, or in other words: multi-tracking. This is what makes development lasting. The whole is more than just the sum of its parts. The way these different tracks influence each other results in powerful movements, similar to the way musical instruments combine in an opera. Even if you are able to pick out individual instruments, you still hear a single melody. It is not about this track or that track – it’s about this track as well as that track.
If you look at development with lastingness in mind, one track results in the next one:
- Attention to concreteness gives rise to the question of the ‘why’ of results;
- Individual development will make you want to find meaning within a greaterwhole;
- Attention to the ‘what’ results in attention to the ‘how’, and vice versa;
- Being involved in the whole will make you wonder about the contributions ofindividual parts;
- Desires result in projects.
