Die Well Having Lived First

 Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. - William Wallace

Green Man Spirit of the Woods

Help us to rediscover our Wildness.

Show us the value of nature and help us to find what we have lost.

In the peace of the sacred grove, may we be reborn

And grow strong like the trees of the forest. (taken from a wall hanging I recently acquired).

I anticipate a degree of challenge articulating that within myself that might well remain lost in part or perhaps entirely. Even still perhaps to speak of it, dare I say to it that a reconnection and continued awakening can be facilitated.

How abysmal to walk through life a slave to conformity! While it's true there is considerable common ground that unites humanity - perhaps only so many permutations of the human condition. It is something quite apart from this commonality that calls to each should they choose to listen. 

There doesn't appear to be any way to circumvent the reality that abject misery awaits those that ignore the call of their soul. Oh one can run far and wide (though not nearly fast enough) - going about the crazy-making busyness of staying busy; but eventually one must stop, the soul, being eternal, has nothing but timelessness, it can wait & when the din of doing, quiets for even just a moment, there it lies in waiting, seeking attentiveness. 

One could literally spend their lifetime "amusing themselves to death," spending more time than not, marching to the beat of all but their own drum.

This then is no indictment toward "work ethic," productivity or anything of the kind. I seek to make a distinction of a quality of living, and the underlying motivation ("purpose" if you will) that drives the machine (that machine being each of us). Of course I can't define anybody else's drum. I certainly can recognize the immediate presentation of challenge the moment one attempts to define and live by their own!

Stories abound regarding the ongoing disaster being unfolded as humans continue to attempt to "tame nature." 

The domestication and exploitation of animals for example has not only negatively impacted the lives of those animals, the eco-systems that are their homes but it is proving to spin-off and also adversely effect the health & wellness of humanity..

The "taming" and over domestication of humans I suggest is a soul-crushing proposition. Consider the cost of "approval," social agreement and endless forms of external indoctrination that must be unraveled in order to detect some sense of self.

Quantity has long usurped quality as the sought after value. Many seek longevity and fear dying - convinced that, "years to life" can ever hope to hold a candle to, "life to years."

It is this exploitation of nature while forgetting oneself (as nature) that gives rise to such widespread malaise. 

It seems to me that somewhere along the line the battle cry - "give me liberty or give me death," became at all costs, death must be avoided. By the time many realized what cost had actually been extracted the sentiment was generally, it's too late to turn back now!

I can't imagine a more painful irony than spending a lifetime running, trying to "cheat death," only to discover that when the day of reckoning arrives one never actually lived.

R. O'Neill (September 18, 2020)