Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Being one with our true self

As we have transitioned from God and mathematics we have progressed to more discussion of walking. I recently commented on an earlier post about how walking or spending time in nature allows ones mind and body to reset itself to its "initial" programming. While I think it's good that people are outdoors to play video games I.e. Pokemon Go, it still creates a false reality in which one dissociates from what nature is intended. I posted that when one spends more than a day in nature or in the wild, trees no longer are pieces of architecture, they are random, unpredictable and can be used as shelter, wood for a cook fire, or in dire circumstances as a bow drill. A honey suckle no longer looks like a display at Kroger but rather can have its bark used as tinder for a fire. When we walk in nature and I mean true nature, as the pilgrims, we unprogram our minds from an overly technological society. My appetite is no longer dictated by late night Arby's commercials and my body no longer feels nervous from a buzz of a cell phone, sirens or car horns don't make my body tinge with burning nerves. Instead I am focused on survival. Food, water, and shelter are my main concerns. I am able to reconnect with nature aside from human control, I learn to let go of the controlling instincts society has programmed me for and become a little more patient when I must cook my food on a fire instead of telling a fast food attendant what I want. My taste buds reset themselves, my body learns to adapt to the cold or heat of the environment and I can breathe deep breaths away from pollution or anxiety. I no longer feel like I have to analyze all the people around me and can focus on who I really am in a vast expanse of the world. I learn to rely on my body more than my mind, which I feel advertising and technology take us away from.

2 comments:

  1. Cody, this sounds like a Thoreauvian lifestyle and certainly something that would benefit many of us. Getting back to Nature has an allure, but then I would have missed out on your fine essay. I grew up on a farm and I believe that I could survive for a short time if thrown back into Nature, but we live in a different world today than even the one I knew as a young boy. Then, I would think nothing of drinking water from a stream behind our farm. I wouldn't even consider that today with all of the herbicides and pesticides that have polluted the water. And I used to relish going outside and breathing the fresh air, I'm not so sure anymore how fresh it is. So is there a way today to experience the joys you describe within our somewhat limited environment? Can we find our own space that allows us to focus on who we are and still exist inside the world's cave? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think we're falsely dichotomizing OUR real choices (as opposed to those a 19th century man would have faced), if we think we can EITHER go back to nature OR interact via social media. Henry criticized the telegraph but I think he'd find a judicious use for the Internet. Philosophers have always wanted to connect, and even Henry's Walden sojourn was always intended to be a short-term experiment and not a long-term lifestyle. So, finding our own space without renouncing the world is indeed the quest.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.