My first “GOING PRIMAL” blog entry ……so where do I start?
That has been the question lingering in the back of my mind over the last week, as the launch of goingprimal.com grew closer. It has been a four year journey in getting this “thought experiment” on-line, and over that time I have gathered so many thoughts and so much information.
So I figured, it might be kind of fun, to “start” at the “end”.
You know, “The End“…… as “in “death“.
Afterall, in “advanced” societies, when we die, it is interesting to note that most of us do not bury our physical bodies in a very sustainable manner.
Sealed away in millions of ornate and expensive caskets, and orderly arranged on well-manicured geometric plots of often fertile ground, our toxic formaldehyde-juiced bodies are “protected”. Disconnected from Nature….one last time.
So even when it is our natural moment to return our physical bodies to God’s green Earth – we fight it. Sanitation is a flimsy excuse.
A telling indictment of the overall way we live in “advanced societies” now……our bad habits follow most of us even to our graves.
The truth is, when one looks across the broad spectrum of most of today’s advanced societies..one is hard pressed to find much of anything “sustainable” in the fundamental structures of those societies.
And now….. it is “crunch time” for us, isn’t it?
For a long while, it seems most of us have listened to the politicians, and the economists, and the corporate leaders, as they have led the building of our society. They have told us “who” we are, “how” we are, and “what” we should do, and for the most part, the majority of us have paid attention well.
As our species collectively stares at this monumental crossroad before us, perhaps it is time to begin listening more to the biologists, and the anthropologists, and the behaviorial ecologists…and most importantly…. our own natural instincts.
For instance, witness the aftermath of the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. The immediate and massive outpouring of love, support, and aid from more developed nations around the world was natural instinct. Our raw primal nature at its best.
In fact, our very survival as a species depends on that same general concern for the suffering of others, even when it happens to fellow human beings we do not know and most likely will never know. Our primal empathy is just as powerful as our primal “self-interest”….despite what we have been “told” all these years.
Or should I say ….”sold”.
Speaking of instincts, I always marvel at the unfettered instincts of children, and the clarity they can give. So I would like to close this first blog entry with a insight by my 7 year old son, the youngest of my three children.
After a long weekend camping and hiking trip this past Fall, I was putting him down for bed the night we got back. This is usually when he asks me at least one probing question that all tired Dads tend to answer “on the fly”, so their kid will get to sleep..and that night was no exception.
He asked me, “Dad, why do people live in big houses when they could just live in a tent?” I thought about it for a second and said, ” Well, most people could do that, but most people want more than that.”
My son didn’t say anything back.
I could sense him mulling over my answer, before he sighed, and then simply rolled over and began falling asleep.
As I rubbed his back, I felt like I kind of betrayed my boy, and myself, with my flippant answer. What was I saying exactly?
I realized that in my son’s mind, throughout our camping trip he probably felt safe, secure, and relaxed. He enjoyed a warm and comfortable place to sleep and get out of the weather, and he had functional clothes, enough good food and water, and a decent place to go to the bathroom. I am sure he also felt loved, useful, and happy.. as a meaningful part of a small social group.
And no doubt he had alot of fun as we challenged our minds and bodies that weekend….while immersed in Nature.
So what else DO we really need in this physical world?
The next generation wants to know.