Abstract
Violence and substance abuse disorders evolve, at least in part, from similar origins of inadequate human connection (i.e., an existential void) with the self, others, and the rest of the environment. This disconnection, in whatever degree it exists, can lead to parallel degrees of distrust, inflexibility, impulsivity, and discomfort in daily life. There are many explanations as to why violence and substance abuse disorders exist and persist in our world. One way to illustrate a nursing perspective of the existence and persistence of these problems is through the use of metaphor. Martha E. Rogers (1970) used the term symphonic harmony to illustrate healthy human and environmental field interaction. In general, we all have a good sense of when all members of a symphony orchestra are in tune with each other and the music produced is a beautiful creation of something unique, unexplained by one member's instrument alone. Similar to this musical creation is the creation of water. Two molecules of hydrogen (H2) and one of oxygen (O) when combined produce a substance called water (H2O), that is unlike either element alone. Both of these illustrations are used to explain the notion of a system in balance. The individual parts are in the context of the whole. In essence then, when we as humans individually and collectively view the self as part of a family, community, and larger world, our perceptions of the self and our place in the world will change. Therefore, when the human system and the environmental system are in balance they are functioning in complementary equilibrium and what is created is an ecological whole.