INSIDE

PERSPECTIVE The Tribe became the HerD

By definition ‘our tribe’ was our people, the ones we felt akin to. They were most likely blood relatives. In times when long distance travel was near impossible, we would marry locally and everyone in our village was related in one-way or another. We shared similar customs views, diets and moral behaviour. We knew what to expect. We also knew which member of our tribe to go to for support. There was the medicine woman who understood the plants and could remedy most ills with a concoction of herbs and spices. The sage or the Wiseman was an elder who through knowledge passed down from ancestors and life experience offered solutions to conflict both internal and with others. The oracle understood the movement of the planets and the spirits, they could see past the present into the future and knew when to move and when to wait.

Each member was valued and encouraged to become unique, finding their own way to contribute their talents to the tribe. They felt security in belonging.

Over time with better transport, we began travelling. This allowed us to marry further from our birthplace, we met people we were not related to and often found relating to their habits quite challenging. They ate different foods, had unusual customs and often unfamiliar moral behaviour. Things got tricky as we tried to relate, and laws were implemented to give us back some security.

Societies grew and fragmented with more people having different habits, needs and concerns. Those creating the rules needed to create tighter governance to keep the peace. Over time more organisation allowed more people to move into cities were everything could be accessed, and extra services provided. People willingly moved to the convenience of modern living. Monumental change can take generations to occur, and we often notice only in hindsight the real price these changes cost.

We now have convenience but not connection. We often reside in large modern homes or tall apartment blocks far away from the land where we were born and the tribe we belong too. Families rarely live together or even close by.

If you were able to step off the planet you would see that we are no longer living in tribes. We are now living in herds.

The herd offers little security and we constantly seek to fit in. Fitting in as much as possible, because the ones that stand out on the edge of the herd are the most vulnerable and the easiest prey. The survival of the herd is in everyone responding and behaving as one. Individuality is frowned upon not celebrated.

Something happened? Becoming modern and more civilised, humanity has left behind so many wonderful benefits of tribal living.

This has been described as evolution and most people would also expect evolution to infer things improve. However, not all evolution is progress. Evolution is defined as ‘change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.’

The beauty of living in a world of duality is that we cannot have a situation without a solution. When we discern, and judge situations we are taking a view and seeing things as beneficial or useless. At that very moment we create the remedy. Changing our view with a will to see the positive, will ensure the solutions appear.

Rather than mourn for the lost tribe we can recognise the short comings of modern living and use new wisdom to re-awaken the herd, become unique again, offer and accept each other’s individual talents.

Modern conveniences, gadgets and toys give fleeting happiness but not long-term satisfaction, they are distractions and do not have consciousness – not yet!

Things with consciousness like nature, animals and people, feed us on subtle levels and create a feeling of happiness that lasts. Our souls recognise consciousness, this is what gives us the feeling of being alive and we know we belong to this world.

As we move forward into a new world, I suggest we make our common prayer for humanity to awaken and live-in freedom and co-operation. Each day using gratitude and kindness to create feelings of security and belonging for each other.

Mary Holstein – Gratefully holding the space for Gnostic Corner to evolve in consciousness since 1998.