Tzhebee
October 25th, 2005, 02:08 PM
Shanti, I hope you don't mind that I post this here. But I felt this class was the most apropriate place, and while I started this thought with lesson 4 in mind...it kind of evolved beyond it.
One of the things that I have been doing in this class is learn (duh) :lol: That seems almost silly to even say. But I mean, I want to learn deeper, more...I don't just want what is on the surface...I want to understand. So, many of my replies thus far have been confusing or contradictory and that is because I am thinking out loud. I am trying to look at every angle of the thing to see the thing as a whole. (does that make sense?)
This all started with my most recent entry in My Xanga (http://www.xanga.com/Tzhebee). Questions and comments always welcome. Even if you just want to say you think I'm nuts.:durrrr:
*~*~*~*
The sun rose and gently tucked Luna away for her evening slumber…then with a gentle caress of her northern hemisphere, she began to lure Gaia awake.
Gaia: Ah, yes…time to care for my northern children whilst the southern babes sleep. with a yawn and a stretch she tumbles herself out of bed and bounds around to her kitchen
Thunder/Lightning: Mommy!!! Can I go out and play? Huh? Can I, Huh? Huh? Huh? Pul-lease!!!!!!!!
Gaia: soft laughter of course my child. Enjoy yourself…but behave!
Thunder/Lightning runs off and jumps about screaming gleefully, bouncing too and fro with childlike squeals of joy. As Gaia turns, she spills some water from her jug, sloshing it onto the ground. After a quick clean-up, she proceeds to light a few candles and enjoy the fragrance…although she must have mixed the scents because it causes a sneeze. Eventually she makes it over to the stove to light up her teapot. While preparing her Tea she spills just a bit of sugar.
Now…all of this may seem like a normal morning around most houses. Children running around to play, parents going about their everyday work…but, now let us see how this appeared from another angle.
As Gaia tumbles out of bed, California is racked with an 8.5 earthquake causing major structural damage and loss of lives. Thunder and Lightning, playing around like the children they are strike up tornado’s all across the Midwest with their jumping and laughing and playing. You can hear the sounds of their joy through Thunders’ rumblings, if you just listen. And lightning is doing nothing more than giving us a wonderful display of his acrobatic skills.
When Gaia spills her water, there is great flooding around the Mississippi river, the lighting of her candles spark the flames dormant in great Volcano’s like Rainier and St. Helens. Her sneeze was Katrina. The spilled sugar caused blizzards in the northeast.
We as humans sit down here and see all these things as natural “disasters”…when in fact…they are simply “natural”. Maybe you find that hard to believe? How about another story:
Man wakes up, walks out to car and starts it up before heading to work. He kisses his mate on the cheek and leaves while the children run around playing in the yard-climbing tree’s, chasing one another, etc. Man arrives at work…it’s a construction site and they are currently empting an old lot.
Another simple, every-day type morning around many houses. So, again, I offer you another angle.
As man starts his car, the exhaust fills the air. Air then begins to choke and have difficulty breathing. Which in turn leads to not being able to absorb water properly and forcing acid rain upon us instead of clean, healthy water.
The children climbing the tree’s, while innocent as it may seem, they are unknowingly breaking off new growth and stunting that tree’s growth, imparing the tree’s ability to ingest carbon monoxide, come spring it will provide less shelter to animals and shade to those kids due to the loss of ungrown limbs.
As they chase each other around the yard, they are stomping on the ground killing many an innocent insect and causing “earthquakes” that destroy the homes of our underground friends like ants and worms.
The lot the man is clearing was full of grass, leaves, trees, LIFE. Nothing is left now but the dirt…much like a hurricane tore through and leveled it all.
See…we have for so long placed ourselves at the top. The top of everything. Humans have (as a whole) began to believe that the world revolves around them. And even our careless actions, the ones we think cause no harm, like a simple sneeze, can be devastating.
So, is Gaia angry at us? Maybe. But is that why bad things happen? No. One of the things I have learned from believing in Animism is that one is no greater than the other. I am no greater than the ant…and Gaia is no greater than me. (no that is not arrogance talking...it is plain simple truth) It is together that we live, together that we must survive and together that we both learn and teach one another.
One of the things that I have been doing in this class is learn (duh) :lol: That seems almost silly to even say. But I mean, I want to learn deeper, more...I don't just want what is on the surface...I want to understand. So, many of my replies thus far have been confusing or contradictory and that is because I am thinking out loud. I am trying to look at every angle of the thing to see the thing as a whole. (does that make sense?)
This all started with my most recent entry in My Xanga (http://www.xanga.com/Tzhebee). Questions and comments always welcome. Even if you just want to say you think I'm nuts.:durrrr:
*~*~*~*
The sun rose and gently tucked Luna away for her evening slumber…then with a gentle caress of her northern hemisphere, she began to lure Gaia awake.
Gaia: Ah, yes…time to care for my northern children whilst the southern babes sleep. with a yawn and a stretch she tumbles herself out of bed and bounds around to her kitchen
Thunder/Lightning: Mommy!!! Can I go out and play? Huh? Can I, Huh? Huh? Huh? Pul-lease!!!!!!!!
Gaia: soft laughter of course my child. Enjoy yourself…but behave!
Thunder/Lightning runs off and jumps about screaming gleefully, bouncing too and fro with childlike squeals of joy. As Gaia turns, she spills some water from her jug, sloshing it onto the ground. After a quick clean-up, she proceeds to light a few candles and enjoy the fragrance…although she must have mixed the scents because it causes a sneeze. Eventually she makes it over to the stove to light up her teapot. While preparing her Tea she spills just a bit of sugar.
Now…all of this may seem like a normal morning around most houses. Children running around to play, parents going about their everyday work…but, now let us see how this appeared from another angle.
As Gaia tumbles out of bed, California is racked with an 8.5 earthquake causing major structural damage and loss of lives. Thunder and Lightning, playing around like the children they are strike up tornado’s all across the Midwest with their jumping and laughing and playing. You can hear the sounds of their joy through Thunders’ rumblings, if you just listen. And lightning is doing nothing more than giving us a wonderful display of his acrobatic skills.
When Gaia spills her water, there is great flooding around the Mississippi river, the lighting of her candles spark the flames dormant in great Volcano’s like Rainier and St. Helens. Her sneeze was Katrina. The spilled sugar caused blizzards in the northeast.
We as humans sit down here and see all these things as natural “disasters”…when in fact…they are simply “natural”. Maybe you find that hard to believe? How about another story:
Man wakes up, walks out to car and starts it up before heading to work. He kisses his mate on the cheek and leaves while the children run around playing in the yard-climbing tree’s, chasing one another, etc. Man arrives at work…it’s a construction site and they are currently empting an old lot.
Another simple, every-day type morning around many houses. So, again, I offer you another angle.
As man starts his car, the exhaust fills the air. Air then begins to choke and have difficulty breathing. Which in turn leads to not being able to absorb water properly and forcing acid rain upon us instead of clean, healthy water.
The children climbing the tree’s, while innocent as it may seem, they are unknowingly breaking off new growth and stunting that tree’s growth, imparing the tree’s ability to ingest carbon monoxide, come spring it will provide less shelter to animals and shade to those kids due to the loss of ungrown limbs.
As they chase each other around the yard, they are stomping on the ground killing many an innocent insect and causing “earthquakes” that destroy the homes of our underground friends like ants and worms.
The lot the man is clearing was full of grass, leaves, trees, LIFE. Nothing is left now but the dirt…much like a hurricane tore through and leveled it all.
See…we have for so long placed ourselves at the top. The top of everything. Humans have (as a whole) began to believe that the world revolves around them. And even our careless actions, the ones we think cause no harm, like a simple sneeze, can be devastating.
So, is Gaia angry at us? Maybe. But is that why bad things happen? No. One of the things I have learned from believing in Animism is that one is no greater than the other. I am no greater than the ant…and Gaia is no greater than me. (no that is not arrogance talking...it is plain simple truth) It is together that we live, together that we must survive and together that we both learn and teach one another.