Perception is NOT reality, Perception is the distortion of reality — Truth is reality
A Reflection
We are all a little like mushrooms.
But not all mushrooms are the same, and neither are we.
Read on to know more…
Mushrooms are more than fungi; they are a microcosm of the world’s hidden dynamics.
They reveal the strength of networks, the necessity of decay, the power of partnership, the subtlety of communication, the duality of danger and promise, the resilience of adaptation, and the wisdom of time.
In their glow-in-the-dark magic, their plastic-eating potential, their medicinal promise, they provoke us to look deeper—at them, at ourselves, at the systems we inhabit.
For in the quiet life of mushrooms, we find not just a kingdom of life, but potentially a guide to navigating the complexity, chaos, and beauty of our own existence.
Why Mushrooms?
A Mirror to Our Systems
The mushroom we see is just its fruiting body, most never see or know of the mycelium, the sprawling web of thread-like hyphae beneath the forest floor.
A vast, unseen network that can stretch for miles—like the honey fungus in Oregon, covering 2,385 acres and possibly thousands of years old. This hidden giant is the true power of the fungus, a living infrastructure that connects and sustains life.
In this, we may see a reflection of our own world: the interconnected world of geopolitics, global economies, social networks, and digital systems that underpin our visible world.
Ray Dalio might argue, it’s the underlying mechanics, the unseen patterns and connections that drive the machine and the outcomes we observe.
The mushroom teaches us that true influence often lies below the surface, in the roots we rarely pause to examine.
The Cycles of Change
Mushrooms don’t bask in sunlight; they thrive in the shadows, breaking down dead matter, plants, animals, even rocks. They are nature’s great decomposers, turning decay into the raw materials for new beginings; constant change. This ruthless yet essential process mirrors the cycles of renewal in our own systems.
The most consequential decisions on geopolitics, economics or domestic politics and often public markets are made in the shadows not in the sunlight. Outdated influences and old norms are dismantled to build new ones. It’s progressive destruction in action—a principle of progress that demands we let go of the obsolete to embrace the future. Without mushrooms, ecosystems would stagnate; without this capacity for renewal, would society too?
The Strength of Symbiosis
Mushrooms are certainly not solitary actors. Many form mycorrhizal partnerships with plants, boosting nutrient absorption in exchange for sugars through a “wood wide web” that supports many plant species. This mutualism reveals a truth about thriving systems: cooperation generally outlasts competition.
In a world fixated on geopolitical and societal winners and losers, the mushroom offers a counterpoint: success lies in reciprocity, in alliances that on balance, and one hopes, in general fairness elevates all parties. Many might see in this a call to a shared purpose or at least understanding, a reminder that meaning emerges when we align our efforts for mutual benefit rather than selfish gain.
A Whisper of Communication Beneath the Surface
And while this may be stretch, or not, who knows, emerging research suggests mycelial networks may use electrical signals to “talk,” coordinating their actions in ways that hint at a primitive intelligence. However, perhaps in this instance it echoes the way information flows through human networks—whether in markets reacting to news or societal trends and ideas rippling through social culture.
It’s a subtle, often invisible force that shapes a collective identity, much like the currents of influence beneath a mushroom’s cap. The simple forest floor fungus reminds us how much of our own world is governed by unseen networks or conversations we’ve yet to discover or decipher.
The Need for Discernment
As everyone well knows, not all mushrooms are benevolent. Among their 10,000-plus species, some like the death cap, are deadly, their allure concealing a fatal poison. Others, like the coprine mushroom, turn toxic only with alcohol, a hidden trap for those that like a drink.
This duality mirrors the realities of our world: control, communication, ideologies, technologies, and opportunities that can nourish or destroy us individually or collectively often depend on how we approach and legislate them. The mushroom demands discernment, a skill as critical in navigating the wild as it is in sifting through the flood of information, innovations, and ideologies that define modern life. To thrive, we must learn to separate the transformative from the treacherous.
Resilience in Motion
From a single little mushroom billions of spores are released, tiny traveler’s cast into the wind, tough enough to endure extreme conditions and sprout anew across vast distances. They embody resilience and adaptability, qualities that have kept life progressing and thriving through eons of upheavals, innovation advancing, and risk takers challenging ideas and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
In our own lives, we too must cast our inquisitiveness wide, search out new ideas, perspectives, embracing uncertainty and unknowns with patience to persistance to seek new perspectives. Not every spore takes root, nor will every idea or endeavor succeed, but some will, and in that lies success and survival. The mushroom’s spores should inspire us to remain resilient and to trust in the long game…of adaptation.
Ancient Wisdom
Finally, fungi are old—over a billion years old.
Through persistence and breaking down resources into soil, they paved the way for plants to colonise land, slowly shaping and enabling Earth’s ecosystems. Their quiet persistence offers a lesson in the power of small, steady actions to effect monumental change. It’s a nod to the importance of history, of understanding the deep foundations beneath our present systems. The mushroom whispers that what endures is often what adapts, what collaborates, what renews; principles as vital today as they were in the primordial past.
If you got this far, well done!
We’re all like mushrooms.
But not all mushrooms are the same, and neither are we.
Will you be an Industrial Mushroom or Wild Mushroom?
Industrial Mushrooms live in a controlled world, buried in straw & sawdust, mixed with shit, and endless darkness. They’re fed a precise calculated diet and raised for someone else’s purpose.
Sound familiar? It’s like living drip by drip on the social media algorithm diet, spoon-fed curated content, tailored to keep you hooked but not necessarily wiser.
Be a Wild Mushroom!
Adapt to the world around you, seek to understand whats happening in your environment, connect, and carve out your own perspectives and paths—glowing in the dark, breaking down obstacles, and understanding the world around you.
Next time you’re scrolling, ask yourself, what kind of mushroom am I today?