Wildness

For me, religion did not give me understanding of life around me. It gave me discipline which is also important. Going into the wilderness helped me understand what life was about more than anything else. And the epidome of this experience was when I did a 4 day vision quest with no water and no food where I experienced being completely at one with nature and I was also lucky enough like many have been for 20,000 years or more who have experienced this native American Vision quest experience to actually survive this experience in the wilderness too.

But, the primary thing I want to say here is young people need to experience the wildness of nature or else they will not understand what it is to be human. Religion like politics often just teaches platitudes and leaves one confused. However, actually being out in nature gives a person a feeling of what human beings actually came from originally-- Wildness.

Many people are afraid of wildness because of bugs, and insects and snakes and mice and rats and raccoons and wildcats and bears and mountain lions and 9 feet tall Moose and slightly less tall Elk and wolves etc. depending upon what part of the country or world you live in.

But, I fear for those who never experience wildness and grow up only on video games and drugs given to calm them or to alter their brains to be submissive to parents like puppies. Because until you experience wildness, how can you know who you are and where you came from?

You can't.

And if no wildness is left how can any of us then know who we are?

We likely cannot or we will have to completely redefine ourselves in some new way but then we likely won't be human beings anymore (at least in my definition of what a human being is being born around 1950.)