A Walk Without

I was a bit bewildered when I learned that every "great" civilization from the beginning of man has collapsed due to lifestyles that grew beyond what was sustainable. Mesopotamian 4000 years ago, Greece 2600 years ago, Romans 1600 years, the Egyptians, even dynasties of China and civilizations of pre-Columbian South America. They all spread in number and took what they could until there was nowhere left to turn for more resources; they died of widespread famine. It's that simple. Easter Island is the clearest example I can think of; a microcosm of what is happening today. Then it was an island. Now it's an entire planet. Then it was wood. Now it is oil.

If you put a frog into boiling water, he will jump right out. If you put a frog in cool water and slowly warm it to a boil, the frog remains and boils to death. We are frogs, my friends. And our planet is slowly heating up, on many ecological levels. Are we boiling to death? Can we jump out?

I've been on a path of Awakening mostly since my divorce nine years ago. You can make of that what you will. I know I have. Anyway, somewhere along the way, I read a beautiful little book about an aboriginal tribe in Australia (Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan). I was struck by how enlightened these people are, spiritually. Having no language for past or future, they live absorbed in the present moment. They exhibit none of the neuroses so common to our conditioned way of being; no aggression, no stress-related ills, no blame, and no depression. They live in harmony with each other and with all around them. Taking from the Earth only what they need, sharing willingly and without fear of not having, they trust completely in being taken care of by powers greater than they. And get this; these people have heard the cry of the Earth and the mass destruction that is occurring. They know the population has now reached over 6 ½ billion and that resources are growing tight. They know of wars for these resources. And their response? They have voluntarily stopped reproduction and are consciously choosing the end of their days. I can think of no other gesture less egocentric.

I read of these aboriginal people with awe and envy. What's happened to us? Where did our egocentricity and selfish greed come from? Our hunger for power over others? I was led to books like Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abram and Last Days of Ancient Sunlight, byThom Hartmann for answers. As I became growingly aware of the need for living more sustainably, consuming less, and the spiritual wealth that comes through simplicity, I realized we, from the western world, have much to learn from indigenous people. They do live sustainably. They know how. They can teach us!

One thing led to another, back in 2003, and I found myself on a plane for the 3rd World. I had closed my private practice as a psychologist in Denver, sold my house and put everything in storage, and left Christmas Day for a pilgrimage, my own WalkAbout, a journey alone to experience native people. Of course, you can't just show up and hang out with whomever you want, just because you're on some pilgrimage. Most tribes, still untouched by the modern world, have their boundaries closed to outsiders. I don't blame them. So whomever I was with, I didn't want to "observe" them as a tourist standing outside looking in, nor study them as an anthropologist would, nor change their spiritual beliefs as missionaries do. I just wanted to experience being with them as another human being, to bear witness, and to learn.

Through the grace of something much larger than I, opportunities arose to live short periods of time with those in the rainforest of Peru, the northern mountains of Thailand, and the Wild Coast of South Africa. And no matter how many books I read, I wouldn't have been prepared for what I experienced. It's like telling a two year old not to touch a hot stove; it means nothing to her because she hasn't experienced "hot". And even now, two years later, the moments shared continue to change me and challenge me. I cannot live now as I had before.

These were people who have been touched by westernization in some way, whether it's through electricity or mandated schooling. They are challenged to live as they have and resist the loss of identity. Their story parallels that of the Native Americans perhaps two hundred years ago on this continent. Despite the material poverty, as we'd define it, I have never in my life known such graciousness, such generosity, such giving and sharing of the little they have. They are all being threatened by outside forces to change their ways and yet, they are full of joy for life. They give thanks and gratitude. They celebrate and cherish. They smile and laugh a lot. They talk quietly and listen more than speak. They do not complain. The children do not whine. They cooperate. I witnessed a complete lack of aggression. I felt loved and accepted, unconditionally.

Simply put, I was humbled beyond measure…..
I saw my own greed staring me in the face and how much I had taken for granted in my life. I tasted the bitterness of my own frame of mind, that of scarcity rather than abundance. I felt the exhaustion of holding tight onto what I believed to be "mine", that if I were to share I may have to go without. I was amused and got to laugh at all the rationalizations and justifications that my Ego uses in the name of survival. I grieved for all that I had hurt through my own ignorance and for all that the "modern" world has destroyed in the name of progress.

Sometimes I wish that every American child was required to spend time outside of this country, with people who aren't of this culture. People who haven't been influenced by the same values of capitalistic greed, power, & materialism that we have. I wonder if this would help open the eyes of generations of us who have been running after illusions of happiness and running from what is real and true. I wonder if this would help us to jump out of the water that is slowly coming to a boil.

I am not that pessimistic, really. Or optimistic. I just find these to be very interesting times. We're kinda down to the wire, so to speak. Can we can put all of our creative juices together and figure it out before we boil to death? Can we learn from the Greeks and Romans? Can we put our egos and our righteous attitudes aside and remember that we are not separate but all interconnected? Maybe not. But as much aggression, greed, and destruction as I am aware of, I believe there to be as much love and compassion. Grass Root organizations are popping up in the thousands all over this globe. The community is strengthening. Local cooperation is gaining power. People are waking up.

So, whether Republican or Democrat or none of the above; whether fighting for peace and justice, or working an eight-hour shift and spending our evenings in front of the tube; whether vacationing in 5-star hotels in the Fijis or working two jobs to pay the rent and feed our four kids; whether recycling and driving a Prius, or tossing our beer can out the window of our Hummer; we will all be tested. Coming out of denial and facing who we really are will take everything we have physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But I believe it is possible; I remember that human beings have lived without all that we have now for most of our 40,000 years. Perhaps it's time to consider that living Without may be the only way to feel a sense of peace Within.

Written By Lisa Franseen

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