Ancient things are most vulnerable during times of revolution
Every time the wheel turns, we look with hope for the new things it will bring and that those new things will be positive. It’s human nature to yearn for adventure, and discovery. In the midst of all the excitement, it’s easy to forget where we came from when we are so focused on the future.
Any time a new generation emerges, it is inevitable that they will see things in a way that seems foreign to the ways of all who came before them. It’s the natural process of evolution at work, and it happens without prompting. We cannot stop things from moving forward, but there is something missing in the mix over the last 50 years, and it’s largely due to the fact that change has come more rapidly than it has in prior generations. The struggles that were endured to push past some of our most challenging times are absent in the present generation. They will have never lived through a time when electricity wasn’t in every home, when food didn’t arrive at your door with a simple online ordering process, or when you couldn’t reach another soul across the globe without sending a hand-written piece of correspondence, trusting it to a number of agencies to get it to the intended address. The time and care it took to do things was part of their value. Now it’s just talk-to-text and although it’s seen as effortless, and even that is too much effort for some to muster.
These ‘old’ ways, although they seem outdated, incorporated many lost pieces of culture that seem to have gone unnoticed. There’s a story I once heard of a primitive village in a remote area of the undeveloped world, where the only source of water was a river about a mile away. Every day, the women of this village would gather their vessels and bring them down, toting their young ones with them, to fill the vessels and carry them back together. One day, individuals from the developing world arrived and brought them the gift of irrigation. This eliminated the daily task of having to fill water jugs and carry them back to their village. This was seen by the ‘helpers’ as a positive improvement for the people, and they patted themselves on the back for being clever, inventive and progressive in their ways. However, in implementing this new way of getting water, much was lost. Each day the women who gathered their water jugs and their children, talked and shared their lives and stories with one another. The children played, established bonds, and had the benefit of the teachings of all the women, shared as part of the daily ritual. Each looked forward to their ‘work,’ though it was a bit of a hike, it was a good exercise and kept them strong, walking up and down the hills, then carrying the filled vessels back.
Some speak of their ancestors as if they were less than we are, because of the way things were done during their time here. In our thirst to create a better world, we forget that we were gifted the one we already live in and try as we might, we cannot recreate the things we have discarded as unnecessary in pursuit of ‘better’ things. Each time we make progress, we should be mindful that everything we do to ‘improve’ our lives, comes with a cost. On a personal note- perhaps I am an old soul and retain many ancient memories, but I can attest that no matter how much I try to work out in a gym, it feels empty and pointless to me. I cannot focus and I feel completely disconnected. BUT, if you ask me to do something like help with a project that requires hiking, picking herbs, or to take a walk, I am more than happy to participate in that exercise.
We cannot treat human beings as if we are blank sheets, waiting to be programmed. We are born with a soul that is eternal, connected to our ancient, inner knowing. There was a time when a mother didn’t need to be told she was to care for and tend to her children. There was a time when other mothers helped when they saw the need, without being told it was the right thing to do. There was a time when we gathered together, long before crypto or money, and when we traded our hand-made goods, we traded stories and created bonds with each other. We are losing so much as we ‘make progress.’
When times get dark and challenging, my greatest comfort are what people would call low-tech, old ways of doing things. Access to the places in nature, untouched by man, have become vacation spots and occasional getaways. Connecting with each other has evolved into obligations that we fulfill when we are summoned. We cannot know what we lost until it is too late. Once it is gone, sometimes we cannot get it back.
My friends, it is the mandate of all those who are still here that remember a time when we didn’t have our current technology, to educate our children, grandchildren, and so forth. It is the only way to keep them connected to their roots, in a way that fosters the growth of a new branch rather than severing the tree into pieces and wondering why it’s not developing into a new tree. Future generations are only possible because of those who came before them. We must pass on the foundational values of those who came before us so they can be incorporated into the new systems and progress we make going forward.
Putting on digital masks and creating online identities is not connection. Affirming the things we want over and over in their absence rather than having gratitude for what’s in front of us is not spirituality. Being a ‘boss’ so you can feel secure in your station in life does not compare to the sense of security that comes with the authentic bonds of a community. We are too busy constantly re-inventing the wheel to see that we aren’t really doing better, we are just spinning our newly created wheels.
The Messengers say: It is time to bring back the Sacred.
Confessions of a Spirit Messenger 