by Francisco G. Gómez
Humans have devised so many complex labels in an endless attempt to describe what is simply, Nature. Permaculture, Bio Dynamic Farming, Eco Farming, Eco Tourism, Eco Spiritual Retreat… ”get in tune with nature through your inner self” and the list goes on and on and on. These are just a few of the cliquish names that are created to bring humans back to a so called consciousness, awareness if you will, of Nature. The truth is that humanity has never been out of touch with the Forces of Nature, even when we choose to disavow, mistreat, desecrate and foolishly manipulate them in so many ways.
Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Obviously, the people that believe they need to get back to Nature understand that there is a real problem in the present environment and as such, address these problems by first believing that they have lost touch with Nature. What we humans fail to understand is that, each and every one of us, contribute to this problem, even when we’re cognizant or not that we’re doing so. An example of this are environmentalists attending a climate symposium dealing with carbon emissions, and at the end of the event, jump into their fossil fueled cars to get back home. You may be thinking, well, they don’t have 40 or 50 thousand bucks for an electric car, or they have no choice but to catch that commercial flight that leaves a huge vapor trail in order to get to South Africa for the Eco Summit. These are valid concerns over real predicaments.
Nature is an on going, ever changing and equalizing manifestation that is inescapable. Humans at each moment experience her power, many times without even giving a second thought to why they put a coat on in winter, why they need air conditioning in the summer, why they have to sit after a long day of pumping gas at the station or even when they find that at the age of 60, they’re putting on more moisturizing cream than they did when they were 59. These are simply the physical manifestations of Nature upon us and as such we negotiate them accordingly.
Moreover, humans indulge on a deeper level in Nature blindness by sometimes being racist; the Neo Nazi owns a loving pet that has totally black fur, yet he can’t accept the skin color of another human being, or a nation that experienced a loss of a half million people to nuclear experimentation but chose to build nuclear reactors that have now bit them and the planet on the ass, or corporate bailouts to the tune of trillions while many on the planet go hungry, or endless wars that are ever lasting. Even when the conflict has stopped, the veterans can’t expel their combat experiences which manifest in PTSD, or a people who experienced the extermination of 6 million of their kind only to marginalize and exclude others by taking their land from them and building apartheid cement walls, or institutions of learning that have become ways of making more money for administrators and appear to be far less concerned with educating young minds. All these seem to be a disassociation with Nature, and it impacts us all negatively. You see, conflict is at the core of these man made problems, and they go against the grain of Nature, and it goes on and on and on.
Perhaps what’s left out of the equation that makes up Nature, and what seems to be rather problematic for science, is the idea of spirituality as an integral part of Nature. Before the White man came along and decided to steal the land that belonged to indigenous peoples in this hemisphere, there was no problem with the balance of Nature. Land was not seen as something to be owned by humans; it wasn’t partitioned and exploited unlawfully. Animals shared a common experience with humans and were treated as relatives; let us not forget that Homo Sapiens are animals! Natural resources weren’t deemed commodities to be consumed as if they were inexhaustible. It took a brief 500 years for spiritless conquerors to upset the balance of Nature, which some experts say, has passed the point of repair for the sake of humans. This is not the case for Nature after we are no longer here, perhaps. For thousands of years First Nation people understood the intricate web of life that is Nature and continue to do so today under the harsh realities imposed by the descendants of those spiritless conquerors.
You see, all of these problems are made by humans and perpetuated by Nature blindness. Once again, Nature is in our faces at every second and she is inescapable, and that’s why there is no need to believe that we need to go back to her. Nature has no ego; she doesn’t discriminate, alienate, exclude, retaliate, hate or do anything that may be considered intentional behavior. She doesn’t care; she only wants equilibrium and nothing else. Nature has a rather fair way of doing things, wouldn’t you say?
What a simplistic way of looking at things, you may think. Well, it really is that simple. It is as simple as turning on your radio and listening to the news of the day, your favorite talk show, or listening to the lyrics of life coming through your speaker to understand that it is never ending babble about the problems that plaque us relentlessly every day of our waking lives. And yet, there are temporary or no solutions at all, and it goes on and on and on because the situations are not in sync with Nature.
The very things that keep us Nature blinded are supported by our civil obedience; we pay taxes that are not written legally into our laws; we continue to support a two party politic that keeps us in bondage as a nation; we let local, state and national statutes impact on our rights as citizens, and we let, a, now, police state infringe upon our civil rights in the pursuit of liberty as guaranteed by our constitution. Well, Nature doesn’t give a shit about any of these man made things because at the end of the day, man has no say on what Nature can and will do.
So the next time you feel that you have lost touch with Nature and need to get back to her, question the labels you are willing to accept or the money you might spend on those labels for something that is free for all of us. And, if you need further assurance, look out the window or step into your backyard or go for a walk and look up into the night sky and understand that Nature is all encompassing, that we humans are mere particles of the larger cosmos; and as a minute entity of the whole, we are part and parcel of Nature. So, there is really nothing to get back to. Perhaps we may find a better way to work within Nature instead of making her ill all the time. We should also be aware that living systems that make up Nature always look to find homeostasis and get rid of that which has created the illness…