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HUMANS VS NATURE
For millions of years,
humans lived in a predator-prey relationship with all species. An equilibrium existed
on the Earth. As we lost sight of our origins, we began to develop tools and ways
of living that insulated us from predators, the elements and the uncertainty of hunger.
We explained away nature with mythology. We became arrogant, and developed religious
and state institutions that justified our behavior and helped us to live with the
atrocities committed every day in the name of god, king, country, ego and sport.
Humans stopped looking to nature for answers, and instead came up with answers that
suited the moment.
All life, all around the Earth, is now subject to the whims
of the dominant culture: a culture repressed, disconnected completely from the wildness
of the Earth and the wildness in itself. Only through this alienation could anyone
commit such atrocities as the captains of industry and government do daily.
We
strive to find ways of healing our selves and the land, letting the land heal us,
and living in place. A place will only reveal itself if we are there long enough
to see the seasons change, to sit very quietly, very still for a long time. This
is the process of re-wilding ourselves, becoming feral. Re-wilding the Earth, defending
wildness where it remains, and stewarding injured land onto the healing path of re-wilding,
is our way. Learning the ways of nature--this is the path of Deep Ecology.
FIRST
WE ARE ANIMALS
As you study the natural world, pay special attention
to the other animals. What do they spend their waking hours busied with? Are they
hunting? Are they preoccupied with mating? Are they building or finding shelter?
Look at the other animals and see what the real focus of their lives is. Draw the
inspiration for your daily life from the patterns of the natural world.
Survey
your life. Are you spending your life striving for the things that an animal does,
or are you toiling for things outside of those natural needs? Try to see the human
place within nature. What changes can you make as you strive to live within that
natural place? Strive to find your animal niche. Look at your life and make a decision
to avoid the things that are not part of your natural animal. Live each moment with
purpose, as does the squirrel or the dragonfly.
As you observe the natural
world ask yourself, "Do animals take more than they need?" And ask yourself,
"How many animals destroy for reasons other than self-preservation?"
WHAT
ARE YOU EATING?
Are you actually sustaining yourself,
or are you slowly killing yourself and the world around you? When you look at the
natural world, do you see other animals passing up their basic nutritional needs
for poison?
When do you think that the humanimal evolved? What foods do you
think were available to that animal? Do you think that you are evolved to eat the
diet you are currently eating?
Investigate the impact that your food choices
have on the natural world. How much energy is expended to produce your food? Is it
less damaging to the natural world if you grow a radish, or if you get it from the
market? Ask yourself, "What kind of ecological damage is connected to an organic
apple from the other side of the Earth?" Is processed vegan food any better
for you or the planet than raising chickens in the city?
How many of your
food needs can you actually meet for yourself? Can you find it locally? Where does
it grow? Before eating that piece of fruit, ask yourself, where does this come from?
Can you find something similar growing wild in your neighborhood or bioregion?
As
we think about our food, let's think about what makes sense, and why it makes sense.
Eat deliberately.
To learn more about growing food with nature in mind
discover Permaculture.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
Where
does your home come from? Most of us live in houses which are barriers against nature.
From our windows we may be able to watch the birds, but we can't feel the flutter
of their wings in the air, we can't feel the chill of winter, can't smell the rain.
It doesn't have to be this way. Our homes could be inspired by the homes of other
animals, allowing us to dwell in the natural world again.
Look at the animals
around you. Where do they live? Do they own the land? What are their shelters made
of? Can you even see their shelters, or do they blend in so well with their surroundings
that you can't find them? Are the animals' homes larger than they require? Does the
animal build its home in a place that threatens the animal's very existence? How
does your home compare with these?
An animal's home is utilitarian, not excessive.
Animals' homes are made of natural materials: mud, sticks, sod, bamboo, straw. Animals'
homes will degrade, once abandoned, or they will be taken over and maintained by
another animal. Animals live in homes that breathe, that don't poison them. When
you see an animal shelter, you see it as part of nature, not an impenetrable barrier
between that animal and the natural world.
Our shelters should be constantly
changing, growing, degrading, according to our needs. Shelter is transient, malleable,
something that we can abandon from season to season, if our needs dictate.
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