What exactly is this world around us? Does reality lie far beyond what we really see in the industrialized world? Beyond the economy, our modern infrastructure, our cars, our homes, our jobs, the grocery store, the shopping mall, the television, and many more human creations, what indeed makes the earth work? Aren’t we in control, and don’t we take dominion over the workings of the globe?
These are questions that have been circling around in my mind ever since I was a small child. Looking out into the world, my analytical mind has always been very curious about how things really work. I have always tried to seek out knowledge, and determine what makes the most sense to me.
And with so much knowledge out there, there are certainly many interpretations and a varied wealth of data about so many things. Naturally, with so much to comprehend, I would say that I generally don’t take things by only their face value. Being an intrinsic skeptic, I try to look for the whys and hows about things, rather than just take as truth everything that the powers that be sometimes masquerade as infallible.
With these innate characteristics, I see the world around me in a way where I feel that what the modern, industrialized, human-created world projects on us as how things really are, may be, in fact, not how things really should be.
Does this mean that I am a misanthrope? Most certainly not! I love people and the beautiful culture, community, compassion, respect, and good works that humankind has created. Our modern society is definitely something that is astounding and remarkable, and so many benefits have been bestowed upon us as a result of technological advances and inventions.
We have been able to develop a quality of life that is reliably unsurpassed in the history of the world.
With this gradual development into things as we know it though, there have been many aspects which have delivered us farther and farther away from the natural origins of our being. In many ways, this is unfortunate, because we may really be missing out on certain elements of life which otherwise could be part of us.
The reasoning for this? Well, it could possibly be that throughout humankind’s evolution - physically, mentally, and spiritually – our ancestors were asking a similar question to mine. They could have been trying to figure out the workings of what was around them, always with the instinct of survival guiding them along the way.
Without the adeptness into the field of science as we know it today though, along with the continuing advancement of intelligence, earlier humans were only able to explain the cosmos in ways that they could comprehend at the time, and made the most sense to them, given the knowledge and technology at their disposal. Many times credulous (e.g., the world is flat), due to the lack of resources that could assist with factually grasping the complexity of the universe, deep-seated axioms were developed and became entrenched. As time went by, and the human population got larger and began to spread into other areas of the globe, the desire for power and wealth further emerged from these axioms, and at times, greater knowledge led to greater power, using what was considered to be the ultimate truth. This was many times held by the triumphant and their wishes, and was forcefully dispelled to those under their control.
Fast-forward to more present times, and one can look back and potentially see the vast multiplicities of thought that have characterized the unfolding of life as we know it today.
Additionally, with some further observation, one can see the reign of power (and the varied evolvement of the structures that lust for money, control, and manipulation), and how they have manifested themselves.
I feel this makes for a good part of the foundation on which a lot of our society has been built upon. And this may be where the crux lies – in other words, it could be how life in our industrialized world has gotten to the point where it is losing any semblance of a natural, balanced existence.
For the sake of this existence, I perceive that it is incredibly important to carve out a sense of duality…
Our civilization has become so advanced and complex, that it is impossible for the population as a whole to be able to fully set this aside, and entirely integrate back into nature. We have built vast megalopolises that are home to skyscrapers and tens of millions of people. Very little recognizable nature exists in many of these “concrete jungles.” An average working citizen may spend his days between home and work, walking or traveling on pavement, going from building to building, spending most of his time indoors amongst synthetic materials. He may dwell in artificially-lit surroundings, in front of a computer screen, crunching numbers for ten hours per day, five or six days per week. “Food” from the snack machine may be morning-time “sustenance,” fast food may be for lunch, and a microwave meal for dinner.
Everything he consumes comes from the store, neatly packaged in boxes or other containers. He wheels the cart through week after week, while he watches money come and go.
The kids go through a similar routine as well. They walk or ride to school the same way, spend all day in the classroom, and time spent outdoors may consist of an artificial ball field, a playground set, or a concrete court.
Sounds like a snapshot of modern life to me. Is it bad? No.
But there is some detriment to it; hence, why I feel a dual-existence – one that creates a healthy balance and understanding of the workings of our modern society, but also places a large emphasis on how we, undeniably, are a small part in the grand scheme of things – is steadfastly important.
Why? Because life is much more than the scenario I described. We cannot forget who we really are, and where we come from.
Again though, modern civilization is not necessarily lousy by any means. I am a part of it like everyone else in the industrial world. It would certainly be difficult to abandon the ease of turning on the shower every morning, only to instead go jump in the lake as a means of bathing. Although sometimes that may be fun, what happens during the winter?
You can think of many examples of things from our current times that would certainly be difficult to live without!
But since many of us live far from nature, and have for our entire lives, we may not even know what that is like!
And it goes far beyond that. As much as we need to experience nature, we need to understand it as well. Comprehension of the natural world leads to an enhanced appreciation of it, which in turn can allow us to integrate it more into our lives, and for us to integrate more into nature.
This may go against the current workings of present-day society, and its “conventional” (but profitable) solutions for whatever ails us.
So what do we do then? How can we integrate toward a more natural and sustainable future, with everything seeming so insurmountable? Refreshingly, there are more and more of us asking the same question!
There are many solutions just waiting for us to embrace them. When we focus upon the principles about how the world really works, then we can see hope for a more balanced, sustainable, peaceful existence just around the corner.
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