Let's Go Wild
#29: 3 December 2023
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) once wrote, “It’s not what you don’t know that kills you; it’s what you know for sure that isn’t so.”
We live in a world we define as duality, either/or. This approach limits our thinking of possibility not ‘just’ to what we know, but to a mere two choices. Stay or go; fast or slow; left or right. Entire paradigm shifts are ignored and/or unnoticed. Despite the prefix, this is truly a monoculture; and Nature abhors monocultures. We don’t practice, we aren’t taught, how to seek new ideas or opportunities; even at the point when the door is wide open.
Danger and opportunity; that is NOT duality; but in terms of how a “good crisis should not go to waste…”, we see this in modern, civilized culture when the crisis is manufactured (bat-sourced coronavirus) to facilitate a novel possibility (vaccinate the globe….at great profit or worse).
How does one cultivate a field of awareness that sees beyond this monoculture thinking? Simple: child’s eyes. I am blessed with an infant daughter, now eleven months old. Her wonder and amazement at the new sights, sounds, tastes, and even laughter is profound and eerily reminiscent of something I, and likely you, have lost long ago. The sound of the motorcycle roaring by on the street; the first bite of mango; and I still don’t fathom how someone so young can laugh so heartily, how does she even ‘get the joke’? She doesn’t know ‘motorcycle’ or ‘mango’ and I can’t guess how she knows ‘funny too much’; but that’s what we have lost. Easy to blame the educational system, parents who say ‘no’ far too often, or simply our memories…such that we know all we care to know about motorcycles (dangerous) and don’t care to investigate other possibilities that might not be so distasteful. Or deadly.
So when I hear/see a motorcycle, naming it before I have a second thought seals the experience into what I already expect. There’s no room left for maybe, new, or what if. We even leave out the possibilities inherent in an understanding that some (many) logic gates are neither true nor false. This insistence that things are the way they are for a reason (one we don’t have to share with you; it’s proprietary) implies we understand completely the particular situation or circumstance. I think we can all agree that at this point in civilization we know almost nothing ‘for sure’. Everyone dies at some point; no one we know is immortal. But aside from this, put something in the comments that you are similarly 100%, bet your life, certain of. Uncertainty is rarely admitted; it’s almost a sin to say, “I’m not sure”. But truly we aren’t sure.
Typically I filter my senses, largely unconsciously, to find agreement with my understanding of how the world works. As a corollary, I filter to find support from my family and friends in the same way. It is rare to find someone who operates in an opposite fashion; who looks for contradictions not similarities and who is willing to grow and change perspective and ‘beliefs’ when appropriate. To do this effectively, especially when a change of view will shake or shatter my self-identity, it helps to be in touch with my intuition; the subconscious is eager to be right, and provides little nudges to get me on the right path if I just pay attention. My assumptions can be named and examined; words defined and used as intended. I can check and rein in my ego, to ensure it is not clouding my judgment.
Approaching reality as solid and dual is a very rigid perspective. Add a third possibility, or even just open space for a third possibility, and the situation is much more fluid and dynamic. The extra options can often neutralize the problematic aspects of a binary either/or. Think about how the interaction of three compares to two: the focus easily moves from seeking to dominate, one over the other, to a focus on cooperating so all three gain. Having said that, Empire as we know it just sees three as more to victims to exploit. So how we approach our common goals is crucial. We can seek win/win/win and avoid rebellion and murder; or stick with the suffering we see all around us now. A key objective of Russia when the Special Military Operation began in February 2022 was to keep Ukraine out of NATO, letting it serve as a buffer for security purposes between Russia and Empire which benefits both sides. That, on its face, is totally reasonable. It is only fearmongers who spew the BS that Russia plans to conquer Europe that say it’s not. Just as the West has been exposed as unable to win a ground war in just one European nation, it is equally unreasonable to think the Russia has the need or resources to try to take over Europe as Hitler did. What can be possible is a structure where every nation feels protected by their allies and has assurances against aggression.
Much, or most, of what we think we know comes from others. We learn by paying attention to the zeitgeist, the narratives in play, yet we usually miss that the info we take is manipulated for particular purposes, usually not disclosed or understood. The very nature of reporting is radically different today, when nearly all major media outlets are owned by a handful of corporations, when we compare it to just a generation ago. It is full of press releases, not investigation or questioning. It is full of fear, keeping us disengaged. We are distracted by entertainment; bread and circuses, and so we miss the context that used to be reported as vital to understanding what is going to happen next. The very words used have new meanings, or are used to manipulate opinions, either without notice or agreement. Of course language is always changing; try reading Shakespeare the way he wrote it on paper, not the way it has been “modernized”. Changing language in this way invites acquiescence to policies and procedures, actions taken, that we would normally reject out of hand. The Masters also know that repetition works; tell a lie often and loudly, and soon it feels true.
All of the above is Modern thinking; what about uncivilized? The child remains. Experiences happen before they are named and boxed in with prepackaged limits. We know in our hearts we are loved by the Universe, by a power greater than our small human selves. We know this because we know our intimate interconnection with All That Is, with that Great Power. We ask before, and are grateful when, we take the life of a plant or animal for our sustenance. We see how medicine is all around us, all the time, not just for our physical wounds or illnesses, but those that impair our heart and soul as well. We care for others as we would ask them to care for us. We share without concern, knowing we will have what we need because Nature abhors a vacuum. We are Wild and we are free. We are Love.