What sort of symbiotic relationships do you have?

by AK - Jeff 5 Replies latest jw experiences

  • AK - Jeff
    AK - Jeff

    Definition:

    Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits.

    Ecologists use a different term for each type of symbiotic relationship:

    Mutualism
    -- both species benefit
    Commensalism
    -- one species benefits, the other is unaffected
    Parasitism
    -- one species benefits, the other is harmed
    Competition
    -- neither species benefits
    Neutralism
    -- both species are unaffected

    My relationship with the birds I feed is Mutual - they eat, I enjoy watching them

    When I eat fish from the lake here it is Parasitism.

    When a mouse invades my house, it is Parasitism.

  • Ingenuous
    Ingenuous

    That would be me and my parents - or, I should say, was me and my parents. The closest human equivalent to symbiosis that I know of is codependency.

    Codependency can be tricky to identify – in ourselves. It’s much easier to notice when someone else is codependent than when we are. Usually the person who is codependent feels painfully entangled with someone else’s problems. We may feel responsible for, controlled by, angry at and guilty about another person’s issues – all at the same time. Often we feel guilty about being who we are and feeling what we feel. Sometimes these feelings are clear and obvious; sometimes the whole relationship is mired in the quicksand of denial. We just want the other person to do or be something other than what he or she is and our interactions with him or her are desperate, impossible, and manipulative stabs at achieving that. We believe that we’d be happy if the other person would just change. Codependency can manifest in many ways. At the heart of it is our confusion about what it means to take care of ourselves, a genuine fear about whether or not we can do that, and unfamiliarity with the concepts called surrender, letting go, and detachment. This is where the trick often comes into play. Usually the codependent person is super-responsible, taking care of everyone around him or her. Often we look so competent compared to the people we’re involved with that all we can see is their issues, not ours. And nobody may have ever taught us that we can love someone deeply and still let go.... The ultimate paradox that many of us have discovered is that when we start working on and taking care of ourselves, the situation – and sometimes the other person – does change.
  • gaiagirl
    gaiagirl

    If a car were a living thing, most people would have a symbiotic relationship with it. The human works to own the car, spends money to operate and maintain it. The car provides convenient and rapid transport for the human. Some "cars" carry very heavy loads and large bulky objects for their humans. As for actual living creatures, I have fish and newts which I enjoy caring for. They live in a small "universe" insulated from the outside world, and their needs are met. I "benefit" by enjoying them, although they don't really do anything practical, unless the relaxing effect they provide is considered.

  • Carmel
    Carmel

    Never understood what good eye lice were! Do I "benefit" from them microscopic buggers?

    carmel

  • AK - Jeff
    AK - Jeff
    Never understood what good eye lice were! Do I "benefit" from them microscopic buggers?

    carmel

    I think that qualifies as Parasitism. Iknow of no benefits from eye lice. Jeff

  • in a new york bethel minute
    in a new york bethel minute

    when homeless people wash my windshield and i give them change. although lately, it just seems as though i've been giving them change but with no windshields getting washed. at this point i think the symbiosis is him getting money and me feeling like i'm a better person??

    bethel

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