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Friday, November 13, 2015

What should matter?

Our health is directly related to the healthy environment we live in.

Lives, both visible and invisible, signal their presence, with rustles, screeches, scurrying, pecking, while we walk about in meditation, marveling at the different shades of green we never knew existed, and thousands of intricacies revealing in front of us.

This is not a fearful place anymore. This is a healing place; a place that lets us breath fresh air, calms our nerves, relaxes your stand. And when we hear or see an animal in a distressed mode, we feel compelled to stop, attend to it, look for ways to heal and remedy the situation, and might even take the step of removing that being to a place where it has a chance of life.

This has always been our habitat. That hurt animal, that could have been us, we think.

Something about our shared experience is still remembered, how we camouflaged  for millenia, first with covers made from skins of others, with paste and juices and mud and feathers so not to stand out as you do today in your red poncho. For millenia we learned  to blend in in this habitat that might recognize us as prey, skin and bone, but prey never the less.

That was our inheritance, our gene pool, our destiny. No birth control needed if in our entire lives our coital adventures ended up with just a few gestation events, and only one offspring ended up growing to maturity when by chance, among friendly tribes, someone else took turns watching the child at night while you dozed off.

How did we develop our intelligence and not our empathy? How did we learn to solve problems like building solid shelters, design clothing that protect us from all weather, build devices that can help us communicate our status to the world as this very computer I'm writing on, and still feel as though what matters is to take care of number one?  Even when we were prey on a regular basis, we took care of our tribe, we looked out for the benefit of everyone involved, and made room at our table for the stranger passing by. None of our discoveries or inventions would have occurred without global communication and assistance.

Did we miss an evolutionary cycle?
Are we still fighting our deepest fears in the deep recesses of our memory?

As elders of our tribe, we need to speak out for those whose voice might be silenced, and speak truth to power at all times. After all, we have the biggest memories; we have the deepest responsibilities to leave the world better than we found it.

Yes, indeed, Black Lives Matter.
Yes, indeed, where there is callousness and discrimination, and violence, we are sowing seeds of our own destruction.


13 comments:

Tom said...

I agree, as the elders of our tribe we should be passing along good values and life lessons, and trying to make a difference in other people's lives, whether it's one person at a time, or part of a broader social construct.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

So true, Rosaria. We do have a responsibility as tribe elders to work to reinstate the values of caring, inclusiveness, empathy in a world gone mad with hatred and selfishness.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful thought-full post, Rosaria. I marvel at our aging process. ..I welcome those moments of deep clarity that come sometimes in the midst of surrounding confusion. it's like an "ah. ..I get it" moment. It is a gift and it needs to be shared.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Rosaria - you were referring to another of the terrible events in your country ... I was thinking of Paris here last night ...

Which makes me think you could be right .. an evolutionary mis-judgement ... an interesting thought ... very informative and thought provoking - Hilary

ellen abbott said...

I think humans have lost compassion because our lives are so easy (comparatively). studies have been done on compassion and what they discovered is that the better off you are, the less compassionate you are. when you are struggling to survive you can relate and so give a helping hand. when your life is easy, you can't relate and so choose to believe that the others are just being lazy.

A Cuban In London said...

What a heartfelt and, above all, humanistic post. Thanks. I really value your wisdom.

Greetings from London.

Maggie May said...

I think people never learn by mistakes and keep making them.
We're all reeling over here about the events that took place on Friday 13th in Paris, caused by a few. I think the majority of people are more peaceful.
Lets hope so.
Maggie x

Velva said...

You write it so well. Life should be about giving. We have a responsibility to lift people up. Compassion, empathy and kindness are the virtue of life.

Thanks for sharing.

Velva

yaya said...

I keep thinking that I'm just getting older and the world events aren't really any worse than in my parents time...I'm just getting tired of seeing all the hatred played out on the internet and TV. But truly I'm distressed at the evil being displayed. I can't understand wanting to hurt people instead of helping. I can't understand the cold and cruel and vicious disrespect for authority and human kind. I really try to find some good news everyday to make me realize that good does exist...it's just not as exciting to report. Prayers for peace this evening..thanks for such a thoughtful post.

kj said...

How did we develop our intelligence and not our empathy?

i ask myself this very question more often and for longer than i want to believe. thank you for writing this because it reminds me that we are the underground railroad again, speaking up because our humanity knows we must.

i've become vocal on Facebook about the usa refugee situation and i know at least half of my family and friends don't like to see "political' dialogue on that social media cite. that in itself bothers me because compassion is not political….

i'm glad to know my voice is near your voice, rosaria. thank you xo
love
kj

Vagabonde said...

I really enjoyed reading your post, which is so well written. I also enjoyed reading all the great comments – I agree with Ellen Abbot’s comment saying that the more people have the less they care about the poor.
The new technologies are not helping I think – hours on the computer have isolated people, smart phones make people more narcissistic – taking selfies and such. People have stopped writing letters and write just short sentences on Facebook showing pictures of themselves. I don’t read Facebook so I don’t receive birthday cards or Christmas cards either. The younger generation is very self-involved and does not take the time to relate to others than their friends. I gave wedding presents to the two last weddings I attended and never received a thank you note – my daughter told me “young people don’t write thank you notes anymore” they like to get the gifts though. I think generations change – I am from the 60s generation when we loved everyone and gave and marched, most of the young now don’t have the time or the inclination. I saw how a monkey took care of an orphan cat and also some great wild cats stood over and watched a toddler who was lost – it seems that now animals are more compassionate than many people.

Hilary said...

A fine post, Rosaria. I'm reading through the comments and I think what Ellen had to say is quite right. I see that on a small scale.. it's evident on a larger scale. And I think that technology has both brought us closer and distanced us at the same time.

LindyLouMac said...

Wise words indeed.