Contact us at: whispernthunder1@gmail.comWisdom from Granddad
~ Fox Northstar
Some time after Granddad had
passed, Gram once told me she
was glad she would not live
forever as she did not like the
direction the world seemed to
heading. Being a child of the
50s and a teen of the 60s, I
pooh-poohed that idea.
Mind you, I was in my 30s at the point. As the saying goes, with age comes wisdom. As I am rapidly approaching the age she was when she said it, I am beginning to see her point. While I do not know if she was a “seer,” I think I no know what she was referring to was detachment. Keep in mind, all that follows, I have been, and still may, be guilty of over time to varying degrees. The time has come for the kettle to call the pot black.
We humans have lost our connection to our Earth Mother. It really is that simple. Think about it…how much time do we spend outside these days? I make an effort every summer on my trips to the Canadian bush, but when snow flies, I hibernate. We all need to remember the sun powers all the beauty that surrounds us, but we need to be a part of it on a regular basis. Even my short daily bicycle rides help me for that. We have everything we NEED provided, but we have forgotten what is good for us and what could kill us. I am terrible at plant identification, so I probably would not last long on my own in the bush.
We no longer maintain the sense of community that helped our ancestors survive. When villages were small, self-contained units, everyone pitched in to insure the survival of all. The “expendable” men went out to hunt, and the women stayed in the village to gather seeds, raise both crops and children. (Keep in mind a man can father several children in a year, whereas a women can be pregnant but once a year.) When resources were pretty much used up, the entire village would pack up and move to greener “pastures.” If a village grew too large, the members would form groups and split off into different directions. My Algonquin elders have not forgotten this as they still tell the migration story of the “people of the dawn” spreading out to the hinterlands north of the Great Lakes. I was raised Passamaquoddy, but I still have relatives in northern Ontario who recognize me as blood related. Our own stories show the connections, right down to certain individuals involved in them. The Lakota say “Mitakuye oyasin,” which translates to “We are all related.”
Another thing is we are a species which evolved in mostly open spaces. We are not designed to live stacked up like cordwood. Most major diseases did not come about until we gathered en masse in “confined” spaces. We had no need for personal security until we gathered in numbers where Not everyone knew everybody. We became anonymous, and with that, deceitful. If no one knows us we can do things which are unthinkable in small, intimate, societies. When we all know each other it is more difficult to do things others are unaware of. Closeness also promotes group mob rule. Anyone can spread a lie, and when told often enough, it will become accepted as fact, no matter how ludicrous it sounded at the beginning. Ask yourself this: why is it the largest cities seem to have the highest crime rates? I already gave you the answer.
Lastly, riches have become the ultimate goal. In simpler terms: GREED! While some strive to become “rich” beyond their fondest dreams, others of us are collectors. (Guilty here. I collect railroading with the excuse of “preserving” history.) In the long run, it matters not. After all you cannot take it with you! (My stuff is heading for the Smithsonian.) It cracks me up when people complain their portfolios are not performed satisfactorily, so they start buying precious metals for security. When the economy finally collapses, do think your useless metal will be worth anything? You are seriously deluded if you think so.
And we should not forget how technology has destroyed our cultures more than it has helped. Granted, I spend a few hours daily on this machine, but I have other things to do which are much more important. My daily bike (in season) for one, and my crafting for another. Never mind the daily housekeeping chores here in the cabin and around its grounds. Social media was made purposely to be addicting, and sell you things as well. Circle back to GREED!
Recycling is a good start, but nowhere near as efficient as it could be. There is just not enough to be made by it. The machines are not that efficient, they say. Seems if we have technology to put people on the moon, we must have the technology to create practical recycling systems.
We have become a society of self-absorbed entitled idiots. “My” personal rights are more important than “yours.” It is OK for me to do as I want, whether it affects you or not, but heaven forbid you do the same to me, as it is an intrusion. Sure, its all right to leave my vehicle running for the five minutes I am in the convenience store. I am not adding that much to global wamring. While that may be true, multiply that by many thousands of vehicles, and…
We no longer care! Our education system has failed. Granted, the three R’s are important, but what good will they be if no one is around to make use of them. We need to be teaching EVERYONE manners, respect for others and climate change in our schools. Call it indoctrination if you must, but we have no other planet to go to once we kill this one….and we will unless we ALL wake up and DO our parts. That includes electing people who will fight for our
If you wonder why lately I have sounded so dystopian, now you have an idea why. We have forgotten that our Earth Mother IS a living organism, and WE are merely parasites on her surface. The supposed “most” intelligent species has taken her gifts and abused them. Climate crisis is real! Anyone who has been around can see it, my own kids have noticed. It have been proven that everything goes extinct, and always will. Even our own star will supernova one day and take our Earth Mother with it, but billions of years from now. I just would like to know why our own species is rushing headlong towards our own extinction! Sadly, it may already be too late, the tipping point have come and gone already. None of the calculations took into consideration the methane being released by the thawing Arctic.
We can do something, and must! We only borrow the planet from our children, and we are suppose to prepare it for the next seven generations! Do you want to continue to be part of the problem, or become part of the solution? While it is YOUR choice, it is those who have yet to be born who will pay the price….if there is a place for them to be born. Red Green said it best, “We are all in this together.” Are we? Or are we just waiting for someone to do it for us?
As always, do your best to walk in balance.
Photo Credit ~ Fox Northstar