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Cells. Tissues. Viruses. DNA. Digestive System. Species. Biosphere. Ecosphere. Environment. Solar System. Ribosomes. Chlorophyll. There are systems inherent in everything in life. Patterns can be seen among structures found in nature. The branching of leaf veins mock tree branches, and the arms and legs of the body mock the tree. Life continues to reproduce itself and spread into the world through complex patterns and systems. Life templates itself, breaks the template, re-templates. The visual patterns seen in seaweed provide a good example for the what the rhythm of cell division might look like.

Living systems translate into human-engineered systems: language, architecture, technology, business, society, culture, how I organize my room, my apartment building, he lives next door, she has more ice cream than I do. The connection between living and human-engineered systems is becoming more and more apparent in the technological age in which we live. Viral culture is common knowledge. The way we navigate the Internet is similar to the structure of seaweed. Templates.

A community is comprised of the systems we live in on a day to day basis and how they overlap with the systems that our neighbors live in. A local network of systems where values are negotiated on a more personal basis, more organically. When I step outside of our community it is harder for me to negotiate values with you.

There are inherent values associated with the elements of our systems. From the moment we step out of bed in the morning we employ strategies to maximize the profit potential of our day-to-day existence. A tacit bottom line guides the choices we make: latte or coffee regular, live in LA or Greece, become an artist or a school teacher. We do what we want to do. We have the power to make decisions about how we spend our time. And we choose what adds profit to our lives. Profit can come in the form of a smile, 2 million dollars, a friend, a lover. It can be a child, a trip across Spain, a quiet moment with a book. It is about creating value in our lives. That's the bottom-line.