Time Out Of Time

by Simon Goland, August 7, 2008

Bang. Bang! BANG!

What a way to wake up. It happened this morning, despite my attempts to bring myself slowly to engage with the world. The construction across the street has no time to wait, and by the time the sun is up, so is everybody on the site.

It is even more jarring because the night before I woke up with the cry of a loon across the lake where we pitched our tent. While the sound did travel across the water, it was not invasive, and brought me gently into the rhythm of the lake, the forest, the sun, and the abundance of fresh air.

“The world is not to be put in order, the world is order. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.” – Henry Miller

It was quite similar the previous 5 nights, when we were camping in the wilderness of Interior British Columbia (BC). Time flowed differently, the pace slowed down, and we were a lot more present to the world around us, to each other, to Tobi, to the birds, the trees, the sun, the eagles and hawks, the stars (all of them!), the bear crossing the road, to the cold and refreshing water of the lakes, rivers, and creeks, and – ultimately – to ourselves and our internal clocks.

I have been back for a night and a day, and – perhaps for the first time of such a magnitude – I find it challenging to re-integrate with the energy of the city. The many people, the cars, the buildings, the advertisements, the noise, the frantic energy around me (even when it is summer and things happen slower), which are all artifacts of our human-made civilization – are almost overwhelming.

I feel as though I am losing a unique connection to the Nature I experienced in the wilderness, by being here. And I know that the longer I stay here, the more likely it is that I will. The city will swallow me, and I will become a part of that frantic flow of energy happening all around. It has happened before, many times.

“There are two worldviews that represent opposing forces in the world. One is the worldview of interconnectedness that the Eskimos have, of understanding that all life is sacred, that all people and nature are interconnected; wealth is shared, actions are love-based and creative, nonviolence is the path toward peace, and survival depends on partnership with others and with nature. The other worldview is one of separation: life is separated into them and us, good and evil, with survival depending on competition and domination over other people and over nature rather than on partnership and cooperation. Actions are fear-based and conformist, wealth is hoarded, and war is inevitable.” – Judy Wicks

A sunny week to you all, inside and out.

From The Four Corners
This is a new section of the newsletter, featuring news, ideas, moments of inspiration of something someone somewhere is doing that is making a difference in the world.

A little store in Nelson (Interior BC) has a unique selling model, which I have personally not seen anywhere else in North America. Each item has two prices, lower and higher. You pay anything you want, or can afford, within this price range. The idea is that we can pay a bit more (if we can), so that someone else would be able to afford at environmentally-friendly item (in that store) which they otherwise would not have been able to. I think it is brilliant, and is well worth checking out – here.