Forward Ever, Backward Never

This morning, just before I awakened, I had a dream that one of the girls in my program was singing a song she wrote. It went like this "Sitting on the edge of night, waiting for someone to turn back the hands of time. I just wish I could make everything alright." Now I often have poems come to me in dreams, but when I woke up, I immediately knew what this song was about, and why a child was singing it. This past week, I have engaged in several reasonings in which some people felt that the only way for life to be good again is for us to go back to ancient, tribal, bush living, and working with youth everyday, I hear them crying out for things to be different, better.

This idea of going back in time to how our ancestors lived is intriguing, yet romanticized. Many of us would not be able to give up the comforts of modern society, don't have the proper knowledge and skills to do so, and don't really have a plan on the best way to do it. But that isn't the point, because the human race has always been able to learn, adjust, and make a way for change, that's how we got here today. The point is, we should be thinking 'while we are here, now, in this society, how can we make our livity, our way of life, one that is natural, kind (to each other and the environment), loving, peaceful, and positive?'


I think the first thing we have to do is change our mindset and our values. I recently saw an interview with Harrison Stafford of "Groundation" where he said, "Greed has captured the heart of man." I thought to myself, 'and these seven words sum up the world today.' This is a world driven by money which creates a wanting for so many other things. People are greedy for power, status, material goods, sex. Money is a gateway drug for all of these things because,  "he who has money never has money enough, he who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." (Ecclesiastes 5:10) The last sentence of that passage, however,  is "This too is meaningless." The want for money and all of these other things causes people to do unsavory things to get it. People lie, cheat, steal, murder, rape, destroy the planet and each other to attain money, power, status, things, sex.


This greed has pitted man against man, woman against woman, and man against woman. It isn't natural. We are all connected, and this connection by nature should have us doing things that are for the greater good. Look at ants. Ants are social insects because they live and work together in communities. Here, they feed and protect one another. They raise and care for their young. This is how humans are supposed to be. So, this inclination towards me, myself, and I, is a byproduct of the indoctrination of "bling envy" by those who have the most upon those who have the least. This is how the rich get us to work for them instead of with them and then go and spend our hard earned pennies on things they make or from which they profit. Rich and greedy people now determine our values. This is how we got here today, wishing to go back in time.

I have news for those wishing to turn back the hands of time, we are already moving backwards. Greed never goes away, and too few people have most of the money that too many people crave. This is pulling us backward into medieval behavior. Civil rights are being taken away, money and power are giving ones the illusion of being beyond reproach, lascivious behavior is increasing. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back to that. We are tomorrow people who should be ever striving to progress positively. Instead of trying to fit into societal norms, why not create new ones? Instead of trying to go back to what you think was a simpler time, a time of which you couldn't possibly know or comprehend the full experience of, why not try to preserve those traditions, customs, and ways of living by finding a place for them in your modern life?
Of course I realize that I was the child in the dream I had this morning. As a child, life seemed simple and joyful and I often yearn for those things. I can keep that feeling inside of me, but I, we all, must move forward towards a more loving and unified way of life so that our children can experience that simple joyful life. We can clean up our acts now, or clean up the mess later. The choice is ours. Love and Light.