Yesterday after Kindergarten, Blue and I went for a bike ride to the park. I guess no one else shared his enthusiasm or his complete oblivion for playing in the sweltering heat because the parking lot was completely vacant of cars. Since no one was around, I allowed Blue to ride his bike through the empty parking lot. He said it was a good place to practice turns, and he showed off his cool new BMX moves by hopping the curbs. I rode around behind him trying to get a little exercise when he abruptly stopped, laid his bike down and picked something up from the ground. Blue has a large collection of "cool things" that he finds on each and every outing. I naturally grimaced when I saw him pick up the object. Thinking of all his obscure treasures at home, I said to myself, "Oh no, what now?"
Blue picked up a melted purple crayon. It was hot and overly waxy from sitting on the black top under the blistering sun. He asked, "Why is this crayon like this?" I explained how crayons are made of wax, and like a candle, melts with heat. He seemed fine with that explanation, moved over to the nearby grass and placed the crayon softly on the ground. He said to me, "You know (like I should know and remember) that I think everything is alive."
The daily insight I could receive from my five year old would be much greater if I'd pay more attention, and I'm grateful I was this time. I said back, "Everything's alive?" He replied, "Well, not like houses and stuff." To him, the conversation was over and he rode off, but to me, my thoughts were just beginning to process what he said. As I looked around at the metal parking signs and the playground pavilion, I thought, "Why not?"
Why not? Why can't everything be alive. According to physics, everything is alive with constant motion. Everything on this planet animate and inanimate consists of moving atoms. I remember my high school physics teacher thumping the desk telling us that it was in constant motion. Does that make it alive?
What if humans revered everything like it was alive? Humans would have a radical shift and lifestyle change if everything was regarded as alive. There wouldn't be waste. Bottom line. Voldemarts would not be filled with endless supplies of junk because the elements that go into making these items, which waste finite resources, would be revered as alive and beheld as sacred.
Humans have lost touch with the aliveness of self. They don't revere within themselves their own lives. This lack of veneration contributes to the modern day glutenous and disposable lifestyle. Humans are out of touch, yet yearn to feel connected. This drive and need is over accentuated by the purchasing of more junk and is fueled by the desire for immediate gratification. Oh, but god forbid anyone who threatens the "American" dream, yet the institution of "junk" threatens Earth everyday. I feel sickened by people who claim to respect life but exhibit no respect for other humans' lives, Earth, how lifestyle choices threaten our existence. I think that is called hypocrisy.
If everyone could think like Blue, humans could truly ground themselves again. Permaculture could spread and become the norm instead of the underground movement that it is. But it is through the underground that the Hopi believe they entered Earth. The Hopi believe that they will soon move to the next world beyond this Earth. Maybe "the next world" is a metaphor for an improved and balanced Earth, right here. Maybe it is a metaphor for an awakened human race. Permaculture could be the next step that takes us all to the next level that stirs the human race and takes us to the next world.
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