Indeed, we have to get past this strange notion of separateness, like we are above nature. When we lose sight of the fact that we are one with nature (Daniel Quinn hates the term nature, which he believes itself emphasizes a degree of separation and otherness), we begin to think that the rules that apply to everything else do not apply to us, that we are somehow exempt because we are different, we are special. We are an exception, rather than governed and limited by the same things as everyone else.
In other words, we need certain things, like clean air to breathe, healthy food to eat, and some open spaces for piece and peace of mind.
Yet, in the world that we have relentlessly built for ourselves, these things are not only increasingly scarce, but underappreciated by a culture of narcisism driven towards profits at all costs, including that of losing our own humanity.
By overvaluing in a literal sense the money worth of everything, and plotting out ways of exploiting more natural resources by plowing every possible resource that we can from this Earth, we are feeding our insatiable appetites in a system that is unsustainable and, frankly, immature. We feed off this notion that more and more is always the answer. Children also always want more and more, but usually, they are told that there are limits to things. Collectively, we are acting like children, only no one is telling us any different.
The results will likely be catastrophic, and we all know it inwardly. There is a sense of preparing for the end of days, as more movies, more books, more tv shows, more everything seems to revolve around a post-apocalyptic world.
Here's the thing, however: it has not happened yet. As bad as things may seem, and indeed may be, the fact of the matter is that we can still do more right now to do help restore some measure of balance in our world, and not to gravitate systematically towards extremes, even though again, collectively, that is exactly what we seem to tend to do as a rule.
If we were to understand, both collectively and individually, that we are not exempt from the laws of nature that govern over every living creature on this planet, perhaps we could reverse the disturbing trends of self-destructiveness and the aggressive and unchecked spirit of ruthless and cynical mass exploitation of every possible resource that can be of commercial use to us (particularly corporations) around every corner of the world in which these can be found.
Native Americans certainly seemed to understand this, and that the roots of our current global civilization's downfall was in the blind faith that it had on such exploitation, and the inexplicable sense of invulnerability to the consequences of shamelessly raping and pillaging the world, and it's people, of natural resources and, yes, of the life that exists here. They understood that life is a delicate web, and when you tear down one section, the rest of the web can and surely will collapse with it. Collectively, our global civilization was dismissive of such thinking back then but, in time, it is becoming clear to us that the natives not only had a point, but were privy to a certain wisdom and restraint that we did not possess, and which was, and is, far healthier to life and the planet than our own thinking and approach was, and is.
We cannot rewind our own history. We will never get the chance to go back in time to do it all over again and this time, to do it right.
However, we can at least learn from the lessons of our past. We can choose to live accepting the logic and, yes, wisdom, of others, even those outside of our global culture. We can finally choose to listen, if you will, to what Native Americans were trying to tell us about respect for a healthy balance in our approach to the web of life, without automatically assuming that we are somehow special and exempt from the rules that apply to all other life forms on the planet. We can finally do what we theoretically advocate, and think outside of the box of our own cultural mores and mode of thinking, and try and view our lifestyle from the perspective of those outside of us, and understand that so much of the dire forecast that they predicted for us has come true, and that they saw clearly what we were then blind to. And what apparently still remains largely unseen in our global culture - that we have yet to get over ourselves, and our sense of superiority. Our unstated belief that we are somehow exempt from the laws of life that have always governed all life forms on this planet, including our own.
As the article below suggests, we have to relearn that we are not separate from nature, but very much a living, breathing part of it. The only time that that will change is when we change it by ending life as we know it. And hopefully, we will back off from the precipice before we reach that extreme.
There are some thinkers in our past and, yes, present, who understood that we were never separate from nature, much as we may have wanted to view ourselves as such. The Native Americans certainly understood this, and repeatedly, and very often quite eloquently, tried to warn us. In his own way, certainly Henry David Thoreau did, as well, essentially beginning a movement towards recognizing this simple fact as others took up the mantle afterwards. And we have Daniel Quinn nowadays, who's eloquence in retelling certain truths that were collectively lost to us stands apart from almost all other literature available today. Plus, we have had other clues, such as Malthus's theory that relentlessly growing the human population would have detrimental effects, ultimately. Seems obvious now, but perhaps it did not seem that way when no one questioned how special we were, and took it for granted that we were exempt from the laws that limit others.
So, here are a couple of links to articles that could help us understand the significance of reacquainting ourselves with the novel idea that we are, indeed, not separate from, but most definitely a part of, the rest of the world. It is in our human nature.
We Need to Relearn That We’re a Part of Nature, Not Separate From It March 2, 2015 by Richard Schiffman
http://billmoyers.com/2015/03/02/bigger-science-bigger-religion/
'Nature Is Speaking': 'Mother Nature' October 06, 2014 By TakePart Staff
'Nature Is Speaking': 'Mother Nature' October 06, 2014 By TakePart Staff
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