Saturday, October 20, 2007

DANCING LIGHTLY


Part of my efforts to lighten my footprint upon the earth in passing is to not stomp so superhumanly hard using the leverage of the petroleum propelled prosthetic products with which western civilization has outfitted itself to become the bionic species that farts poison and shits plastic, homo artificialis.

Another part is to lighten the load of baggage I accumulated over 36 years of fully complicit, if slightly resentful, participation in and contribution to the mythical exceptionalism of the American Way of Life, the envy of the world, onward Christian soldiers, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!

I have no idea how commonly the experience of feeling that everything one was ever taught is wrong occurs among the general population but I can recall inklings of it all my life from Santa Clause to George Bush. If there is anything at all flawed about man, ala original sin, it may be our gullibility. The willingness to commit ones life to authority seems like a positive alternative to the pains of withheld affections, privileges and rewards that accompany disobedience as the indoctrination begins in the crib, class and courtroom. Once one learns to mock those who are not yet with the program one is as fully engaged in the unconscious perpetuation of the myth as were their parents before them.

Although it is an ongoing process of untying knots from a higher consciousness than tied them, replacing the impermeable asphalt habits of forgone conclusions with the levity of reopened alternative possibilities is a process of sprouting from the compost of ones past that makes the journey a joy to be rejoining evolution.

Then there’s my actual physical weight which seems easier to accumulate the easier I take life. Walking, turning the compost and garden, and cutting what lawn that needs it with hedge clippers are the only activities I feel motivated to do with any exercise component to them. There’s just not anything I want to change around here anymore except the slow process of learning to grow food better.

There is a beautiful part to the wonderful life on the island of Tikopia when it seems more appropriate to sit at the foot of a coconut tree and reminisce about a full life and good times had over the course of a life spent in the activities of children. The Tikopia culture considered one a child all through life, bearing and sharing children as one big happy family tending taro pits, climbing coconut trees and fishing in the ocean were as much play as chasing chickens and puppies were when they were learning to walk. Adulthood announced itself as timely as second teeth and pubic hair when sitting under a coconut tree with a lap full of toddlers telling tales about when one was their age and growing up became a priority. I have a coconut tree given me by my brother, Chuck, in whose shade I feel destined and about ready to sit. In fact, I’m already sitting there, waiting for the shade.

One of the great mistakes western culture makes seems to be the wasting of the wisdom of the elderly as the prime source of educators, not so much for the old traditions they might pass on but for the insights into life that seem to clarify once one has laid down the axe, finished the rat race, raised healthy, responsible children of their own and finally with the time to reflect on life with a relatively timeless perspective. Young teachers may instill enthusiasm in their students, but until they’ve had a career of their own they are just parroting their own untested education with no demonstrable experience of application in the field.

14 comments:

Garth said...

Love this post Greg - it kinda sums everything up.
Especially poignant is the realisation that the wisdom of the aged (and the ages) is often beyond the comprehension of the young.

karoline in the morning said...

If there is anything at all flawed about man, ala original sin, it may be our gullibility.

what a wonderfully deep and profound revelation...mr.g..that's so it..

k:))

Anonymous said...

Another great lay down Toddness. Apostasy surely justified. And I will surely be using your new and appropriate genus-species as mentioned...

"western civilization has outfitted itself to become the bionic species that farts poison and shits plastic, homo artificialis."

shady hugs to you,
Amber

Anonymous said...

I say, let's give the "elderly" the respectful title of the "wise", until they might prove themselves "other-wise".

Hi teepeegeeToddVapors, Sir :)
(I know who you are)
That is a great post.

Yodood said...

Hi Pi,
Whether the non-comprehension of the young comes from inexperience or the total distraction from contemplation the load of homework they're handed by civilization is to such comprehension is a quite arguable point. Besides, they have to learn to speak the language of the authority for it to understand they know better. That takes lifetimes sometimes.

K:)) takes one to know one, and we have always been. One. That is. (;°}
I sometimes wonder if our gullibility is a flaw. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt knowing how much we, ourselves, are changed by daily experience seems to be a virtue. The flaw lies with those who would take advantage of our faith in mankind with lies. Six believers and a half-dozen liars walk into a bar … and establish a cult, culture, civilization.

Amberliscious, If anyone should understand justified apostasy it would be a preachers daughter. When you get it, I feel a whole wonderful field of thought agreeing. It is gourmet gravy on the already nutritious meal of ideas not needing agreement to be true.

Leslie
"wise", until they might prove themselves "other-wise".

Exactly.

Unknown said...

Great post! I'm always struck by how one can learn by simply sitting in the shade of a coconut tree just being simple and real. Perhaps the reason we are so gullible is because we've forgotten how to play and be real and we've forgotten how to appreciate our elders - because too many of us are so busy focussing on our own personal greed.

karoline in the morning said...

i believe the young are too arrogant to believe there is anything they don't know..

k

Yodood said...

Karoline, surely, as a parent, you must be able to see a way for them to realize that even the most certain of probabilities become blinding limits and death to curiosity and imagination when alternative possibilities are completely eliminated. Assuming one knows is tantamount to wishing onself to remain 5 years old forever or that his tail is a dogs fifth leg.

Knowing leaves no room for growing showing experience sowing seeds overflowing without their bestowing cultivated furrowing upon the closed mind towing its owing while arrogantly crowing the sound of hot air blowing.

goatman said...

Beam you up, scotty!


The wisdom of the elderly can be taught if you go to the right places, methinks. (Ithinks?)ilwtevmx

karoline in the morning said...

lol mr. g...that comment could refer to many..my children are still in training, at 11 13 and 19 ..

eldest feeds on literature..anyones and everyones..he thrives on art and music and doing things his own way.

he's the apple of my eye and truly sees the way...his way..

we are, we live, we grow, and a day that we don't grow is wasted..

hugz
k

Anonymous said...

ahhhh G&G ... if you have an extra coconut tree and a glass of ice water to share, i'd be content to sit and lean; close my eyes and listen to your life story(ies) ... i've always been fascinated by the wisdom of the elderly (the strange child who hung around great grandparents at family reunions) ...

but wait .... who said anything about you being elderly ??? come on then,
let's go turn some compost. i can do that too!

xx
red

Yodood said...

Welcome goatman,
Not sure what the Star Trek reference means but I definitely agree one must go where the elderly are to learn from them.

Karoline, Red, group hug. >:o)

Unknown said...

The need to survive and the willingness to obey the herding instinct lead naturally to believing the fuckery fed to us by those who think they know.
Some will sleep forever, bathed in the glorious light that shines from Santa Bush and Tooth Fairy Brown. Some will wake, shake off the malaise and see that living in Nannyworld is not the only choice.

Yodood said...

Minx,
That wonderful invention that allows such specific communication amongst we prolific descriptors comes with a requirement that we develop a healthy skepticism to offset man's newfound tool with which to purposefully miscommunicate for unfair advantage. Only language lets us lie.