Podcast: Rewilding Adulthood
Adults hold space for culture, raise children, provide food and shelter for each other, and make decisions together that they follow through on. What does all this mean in a rewilding context? What do rewilding adults look like? I explore this topic with some rather strong opinions, borne of bittersweet experiences. Rewilding Adulthood may just amount to the most challenging, terrifying, and important work we have to do, as people who rewild.
Jake Swamp: http://www.treeofpeace.org
Jon Young: http://www.jonyoung.info
Rewilding: http://www.rewild.info
For the series on rewilding and breaking the spell of the modern culture, look into Breaking the Spell, parts One (Rewilding), Two (Rewilding Your Ability to Reason), Three (Reality Therapy), Four (the Village Philosopher), Five (the College of the Round Table), Six (the Reason for Riddles), and Seven (the Wise Compass).
May 17th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Willem,
A lot of material coming out in a few days to digest. Wow!
I hear you on the uncertainty of all decisions — always a best guess. That’s an understanding of adulthood that’s come to me recently, leading me to take all other adults no matter what their age or position in society with skepticism unless they show me that they know something. I have encountered persons I consider guides, teachers, even elders, and these persons I respect and listen to attentively, but I don’t ever afford anyone expertise just because they’re older or what have you.
Also, as you spoke of rewilding never ending, I thought about another understanding that’s grown on me recently. It’s the idea of ecological succession really. A field that’s been plowed for ages doesn’t take 100, 10, or even 1 year to “rewild,” rather it’s always wild, only it’s being repressed and destroyed by the plow. As soon as the plow stops, though, the wild energy manifests. It was never gone such that it needs to find something that’s lost, it just needs to be allowed to do it. I think I’ve heard you mention that one of the things you can do for others is give them permission to try or do something (hopefully i’m not making this up!). That sounds like it. It’s not like we need to learn how to live wild, we just need to untangle ourselves from all the habits and difficulties of domestication. Reminds me of that line of Lao Tzu’s (Tao Te Ching 48):
In pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
We may be in early stages of succession, but we’re no less “rewilding” than the old-growth forest, same process different stage. This may be early succession, but it’s no less “rewilding” than later stages of succession. Same process, different stage of maturity. Every person needs to live as a child, a young person, an adult, and then an elder, each as valid as the other. Which I suppose is why, though elders may hold wisdom, they can still learn from children.
Whether it’s called Rewilding, Succession, or Tao, I think it’s all the same thing. Life?
Well, I’ve written a good deal now, though in response, I could have just said: Yes! And… ? Haha!
from the forest,
kodama
May 17th, 2008 at 9:22 am
So true! I love the Tao Te Ching quote, also. That text never stops teaching me.
Succession, the Wise Compass/Wheel of LIfe, no end point, a process ongoing. As these understandings deepen ever more into our bones, rewilding feels more and more intriguing, mysterious, and meaningful to me.
Thanks for your thoughtful response, kodama!