Wholeness: The First Principle of Regenerative Design

This article is a deeper exploration — a “double-click,” if you will — on the first of the Seven Principles of Regenerative Design introduced in a previous piece. In that article, we outlined the foundational ideas for rethinking how we design systems that align with the living, dynamic patterns of nature. Now, we dive into the first and most essential principle: wholeness, the key to understanding how everything — every moment, every place, every being — is interconnected and alive.

There’s a concept as old as life itself, yet as cutting-edge as quantum theory. It’s called wholeness. And as we grapple with the crises of our age — climate change, biodiversity loss, economic inequities — it might just hold the key to how we rebuild our systems, our communities, and our planet.

Here’s the idea: every moment has its own unique whole. Every place, every ecosystem, every human interaction embodies a distinct totality that cannot be reduced to a mere sum of its parts. Think of it like this: the wholeness of a rainforest isn’t just its trees, rivers, and animals. It’s the symphony they create together — a living, breathing, evolving system. The same is true for a family, a city, or even a single second in time. Each holds its own integrated identity, its own purpose, its own dynamic relationships.