predicament
the elephants in our room…
the things we really should be talking about
Ecocide and ecological overshoot, especially our relationship with the natural world
Militarism and genocide
Extractive capitalism and corporate power
Radical social inequality and discrimination
Runaway digital technology and the consequences
Above all, we’re suffering from a crisis of discourse, the inability or unwillingness to have the hard conversations about what we’re actually doing. This is the painful paradox of the modern age: everyone’s talking almost constantly now, but when will we address the elephants?
the things that keep us alive…
If you want to make a go of it as a functional human being, you need to know what keeps you alive. What are the systems and processes that sustain me? What nourishes my life? What gives me my wildness, my health, and my vitality?
In our original hunter-gatherer world, there was never much confusion about any of this. People were fully immersed in habitat and constantly reminded of life-supporting realities. But today, the artificial world lulls us into ignorance and denial with comforting layers of insulation and convenience. In this kind of environment, it’s easy to forget the fundamentals.
Consequently, many people in the modern world are living in a profound state of ignorance. Distraction has become the default state for much of humanity. Literally and psycho-spiritually, most of us are completely out of touch with what keeps us alive.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to understand the basics. Modern science, coupled with indigenous understanding, shows us three distinct circles of life support that surround the human body: habitat, people, and story—especially the cultural narratives that give our lives meaning and direction. From a biological and psycho-social point of view, these three circles make sense—and in a fundamental way, they’re all that humans really need.
