(stone as a paradigm)

Eternal beginning,
of slow time.
Timeless piece of relentless transformation.
A part of matter,
That is all matter itself.
A fragment.

The concept of Olofragment is related to the sense of belonging. The word itself is composed of two distinct parts: Olo, which in Greek means whole, full, complete, entire and Fragment from the Latin fragmentum meaning a small piece or part, a remnant, literally a piece broken off. Two opposites creating a word that would be meaningless if not for their profound connection: a part can only come from the whole. I believe in fact that the best way to explain this concept is with an analogy or a paradigm if you like, that of the stone.

Imagine a rocky mountain anywhere you want on this planet. Now try and zoom in somewhere near its peak. It so happens that due to meteorological conditions or simply because a wild goat slipped while walking on the side of the mountain a small piece of rock, a stone is detached and starts falling down the mountain slope. Now depending where this mountain is located the stone will gradually slide down towards a valley or a plain, a river or a lake or even directly to the sea. Regardless of its journey the stone will pass through a series of transformations before coming to rest; a rest that is by far static, since the stone will continue to be transformed by external agents taking part in the endless dance that geologists call the rock cycle. Weathering and erosion, deposition and sedimentation, burial and compaction, melting and deformation are some of the external agents that transform a stone throughout its journey. In deep time or in other words geological time, this journey that can last millions or even billions of years. In this time the stone will become part of another mountain that will emerge from the deepest oceans or will simply rise from the ground, altering its existence and moving around to become a new part of the planet’s external layers. Because in the end (and the beginning) the stone is part of the biggest stone that we can experience directly with our senses, this planet that we call Earth.

Humans should learn from the paradigm of the stone. Even though the time and the transformations that we experience are nothing compared to those of a stone, the teachings can be immense. As everything on this planet we are part of its very existence. We are dependent on other agents and we survive thanks to the plenitude of resources that exist on this ‘big rock’. Unlike a stone though we are capable of moving on our own and can decide how, where and when to act. Actions that are interconnected with everything else around us and can create cycles of transformation in a sense not unlike the ones a stone goes through.

The concept of Olofragment can be expressed in many ways in different scenarios on this planet and in the cosmos. It’s true meaning for humans though lies within the understanding that we are just a small part of something bigger than our own infinitesimally small existence and that by itself should be enough to make us live a more conscious and fulfilling life.

Part of the whole, like a stone, and conscious of the amazing journey of life, like a human.

06-2023 / Planet Earth