“I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.” ― Aldo Leopold
Control is our sine qua non.
Rarely, if ever, we do covet the instability of not being in charge or not knowing (anything).
And you might think control a good thing; it might be if it keeps you safe or out of harm’s way, but then again, it’s at least arguable that our current earth-shattering predicament is the product of wanting too much control.
Think about it:
We want to control our finances;
We want to control our work environment;
We want to control what we own;
We want to control people — do this; don’t do that;
And we want to control our tiny little space we call home.
Without defaulting to an existential enquiry as to whether you’re ever in control, surely the way to live is in flow with nature? If we did, it’s arguable that there wouldn’t exist the profound sense of me and it — i.e. the world, the sea, the air and all animate things. (Think of it as the age of separation.)
Seriously, when was the last time you were out of control or doing something without a clue why or where you were headed?
How did you feel?
Uncomfortable, sh*t scared or desperate to restore the status quo?
I know I’m overstating the mark, but if you think about, it won’t be long, if the predictions are right about climate change, that we’ll be constantly out of control. Even if you do get a hint of a looming environmental catastrophe, it’s one thing to know about it, but something entirely different to live it…!
And the point of this post?
We need to start thinking about how we can adapt a lot faster than hitherto and deal with our inner feelings that up to now have shied away from changing the smallest of detail i.e. our routine at mealtimes or the route we take to work, let alone anything profoundly life-changing.
Deep bows.