Go wild

What do you think of when you hear the words ‘wild human’?

The ‘civilized’ definition of a wild human is a person who is uncivilised; or a savage. A person of violent temper, erratic behavior, etc. But what does wild really mean? When I refer to the wild human I am speaking of our ancient ancestors, hunter and gatherer populations who lived wild, free and undomesticated.

Is it possible that modern humans are really ‘wild’ humans tamed?

Our ancestors, the hunter gatherers or wild humans, weren’t crazy savages, rather research indicates that they had qualities such as equality, sovereignty, awareness, a connection to the land, appreciation of their land that provided food and life. These ‘wild’ uncivilised people had the ability to feed themselves. They didn’t hand the control of their food to industry, or their health to doctors. They worked together in community with a common goal; survival.

I believe we all have an inner yearning to be wild. Once we recognise this yearning in ourselves we can gradually transcend domestication. What does that mean, I hear you say?

The phrase ‘domesticated’ could refer to the transition to less aggressive, or more cooperative. But there is much evidence to suggest that our wild, undomesticated predecessors could cooperate very well with each other and the environment. And, of course, domestication did not breed aggression out of the human race. Under the banner of civilisation we have waged war, developed nuclear weapons, and inflicted much suffering.

No, I am suggesting - like others before me, that to be domesticated is to be under dominion: that’s how the human race lives now, under dominion. Dominion means that one entity or group has power or authority over another.

Don Miguel Ruiz wrote a thought provoking book on Toltec Wisdom; The Four Agreements. He describes how when we are children we are domesticated like animals and trained by being told what is right or wrong; how to behave; what language to speak in. And we are given a name that becomes our identity. Then our job, family, house, money also become our identity. We generally accept everything we are told to be true and we trust those in power to make important decisions on our behalf. Essentially we forfeit our primal innate tendencies during the process of domestication, just as domesticated animals have done.

Domestication has changed us, has caged us in and we can’t get out. We are stuck on the mouse wheel of modern life. 

Let’s think it through. As individuals we don’t produce what we need, rather, we work forty to sixty hours a week to earn enough money to pay others to provide for our needs. During pre -agricultural times we survived through our connection with nature as had an intimate knowledge of the plants and animals surrounding us, which provided us food. We mastered a wide range of specialised skills, as opposed to just a couple. We strive to become ‘something’. We make choices that aren’t even ours, rather choices that are programmed into our soul at a young age. Most of what we think is from someone else; we are given a bag of imaginary rules that we blindly follow.

We chase something and when we get it we chase something else.

There is a quote floating around: ‘Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.’

Rather than striving to be something, we should strive to unbecome all that we aren’t; If we focus on ‘unbecoming’ we won’t deplete resources, we won’t hurt others, we won’t need more things. Rather, we will tread lightly.

Let’s try to connect again with our wild side. The side of us that longs for time outdoors, connecting with nature and each other. Let’s learn to grow our food, cook from scratch, build community, and become more self sufficient.

Let’s care for this planet we share and work together to make it a better place.