Collaborative Evolution
When we begin to observe the world from the perspective of interconnectedness rather than separateness, we gain new insights into the meaning of our existence here on earth. We see the world in a completely new way. Culture, history and evolution all take on new perspectives.
Culture and nature are inseparable. Everything we see today has evolved from that first moment when single-cell organisms divided. From the perspective of separation, we view humanity and what we do to nature. We see the disharmony of the human species and we compare that with the harmony of the natural world, and we find humans lacking. When we lose our faith in our fellow man, it has an impact on how we see our future. The disappointment tastes bitter, the despair is real. But we need not lose hope.
When we learn to look from the perspective of connectedness, we see a different story. We never deviated from our natural origins.
We often lose sight of the fact that, all that humans are, is also nature. All our potential for creation and destruction comes from nature. It can't be any other way.
On some point of our evolutionary pathway, we became conscious at a whole new level. We changed the way we lived. We survived more efficiently and creatively. We expressed consciousness in ways we never had before. We started making art and developing culture. We organised and strategised in new ways. We expanded our relationship with the world around us developing a new vision of our place in it and our beliefs guided our journey through the unknown.
This was not just humanity evolving, it was nature evolving. Every step we took created the foundation for nature to take its next step. This was collaborative evolution.
Somewhere along this timeline the creative and destructive elements of humanity, that are shared in all other life on earth, became out of balance. They stayed that way for several hundred years. How this change occurred and what maintained this imbalance for so long is a story for another article.
Culture started to change. Instead of supporting and reaffirming our connection to the natural world, it became the opposite. It started to create separation. It created it, then reinforced it, developing long lasting traditions, stories and behaviours that normalized separation. These traits were passed on down through the generations. Like many traditions we are often unable to look beyond “the way we have always done it” to see what could be different and what benefits a change could bring.
Feeling separate has caused imbalances. It has affected our health. Our mind, body and spirit connection has become out of balance. Feeling connected to nature helps maintain this balance. We know we have a right to belong on this Earth. We don’t need to earn it, but we do need to take our rightful place as part of a collective of life. Not above it, not below it, but as a responsible participant. Nature is our family, the animals, our brothers and sisters, the trees, our relatives, the oceans the womb of life, the birthplace of our ancestry.
This can change again, we can bring our connection to nature back into our culture, place it in the heart of our vision of the world. Through the simple act of living from a place of connection we will begin to heal the wound that separation has caused, both in us and the Earth. Our evolutionary journey will then be of enormous benefit to the Earth. We will walk hand in hand once more.