What If Designing Systems And Processes Was a Sacred Act?
Reimagining technology and business processes as living ecosystems woven with listening, care, and spirit to truly serve life.
Dreaming A Garden Of Systems
Imagine planting a permaculture garden. You listen to the land—the way the sunlight falls, the way the water runs, the way the soil asks to nurture life. You don't impose, but merely suggest a gentle blueprint. You co-create with what is already living there.
What if building a system for a community, an organization, or a collective of dreamers could be just like that?
In a recent reflection, I explored the idea of how systems could be alive, much like natural ecosystems. Today, I want to step deeper into that dream—into the art of tending these living structures as a Systems Weaver.
How To Tend A Garden Of Systems
In my journey as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems consultant, I have often encountered the old ways. Rigid structures were imposed with a top-down mindset. Departments operated in isolated silos, unaware of the life flowing just beyond their borders. Processes were built without tending to the roots, without reconnecting to the original vision, the heart song, and the living values of the group.
It doesn't have to be that way.
Systems can be built with listening. They can honor the soil of the community—the people, the earth, and the dreams they are holding. They can align with life.
"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear." — Rumi
Lately, I have been dreaming of a new way to design these system landscapes and optimize processes: a way that honors the visions and values of everyone involved. It would begin with deep visioning—clarifying the inner essence, the values, and the living pulse of the organization—and then shape the systems to nourish that vision, like a trellis supports a growing vine.
What if we became Systems Weavers?
We could midwife both dreams and structures into being—with tenderness, clarity, and trust in the natural unfolding. We can tend not just to the outward form, but also to the inner ecosystem, planting seeds with intention and nourishing roots with mindfulness.
A Systems Weaver might hold space for dreams to be spoken aloud, helping a group articulate its deepest intentions. They might design systems and processes that breathe and allow for change, growth, and seasons of rest. They might craft systems that mirror nature's rhythms: cycles of renewal, webs of support, and reciprocal flows that honor the whole.
When we build without listening first, we risk uprooting what is already thriving. What if, instead, every new system began with a season of listening—a quiet wintering of vision?
Imagine:
A nonprofit whose workflows mirror the quiet cycles of a forest.
A cooperative whose decision-making grows like a mycelium network.
A digital platform that breathes in rhythm with the seasons.
"We have only begun to imagine the fullness of life. How could we tire of hope?" — Mary Oliver
The Path of the Systems Weaver
In the coming moons, I will be exploring this path more—a path of envisioning and building systems that are aligned with life.
Because I believe we can create technology that breathes. I believe we can build organizations like permaculture gardens that mirror natural ecosystems. I believe we can honor the sacred act of co-creation, even in something as seemingly technical as systems and process design.
If this sparks something in you—a remembering, a longing—I would love to hear. 🌸
What might it feel like to build the unseen roots of your organization with this kind of care?
What processes are you managing that could benefit from attuning to natural rhythms and cycles?
Let's dream together.
As always, with love,
Maria
Land Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that the land on which I live is the ancestral home of the Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee peoples. These Indigenous communities cared for this land long before the arrival of European settlers and continue to contribute to its cultural and ecological richness today.
I invite us to honor the enduring presence and sovereignty of Native peoples and commit to learning from and supporting their voices and leadership.
I love viewing systems in this way. Beautiful xoxo