Do you know whether wild animals use herbs, bushes and trees at random to rub their bodies against, or do they choose the these plants in some way?

Different plants have different chemicals in them. They have different tannins and essential oils and other pest repelling chemistry in them.

It would be natural for any creature to be able to recognize and use elements of its environment, which we might call beneficial elements, to protect itself against some other elements that we might call harmful elements.

Using rich ecosystem of roots, fungi, herbs, shrubs, bushes, trees, vines seems very natural way of getting rid of ticks and other parasites. As we know plants have properties that repell certain pests by their smell (which come from the higher content of essential oils), some that cause indegistion, or poison the one who ingests it.

A primary way of survival of any creature, would then be an exelent understanding of its environment and extensive knowledge about the properties of elements within it. To the extent to which such creature knows and understands the innerworkings of its environment, the creature can be more successful in accomplishing its goals in their respective modes od operation.

Therefore an animal would eat certain plants, herbs that act antimicrobial, aid digestion and detoxification processes, provide essential minerals etc.
Such animals would rub their bodies in the herbs, bushes and trees that have certain chemicals in them that repell parasites and other unwanted pests.

This is what humans would have done in the past, before we lost our ability to recognize anything useful in our environment and are increasingly further from understanding how it works.

We've reduced ourselves to a creature limited to gathering resources needed for life only from a shelf in the supermarket.

And I'm not even talking about recognizing the chemical properties of plants. I'm talking about humans not recognizing what is food and what is not at a FOOD at all.

Speaking then of intelligence and true intelligence...

We are it seems very afraid these days.
We seem to be afraid of everything.

We are afraid to die,
We are afraid to live.

We are afraid to be ourselves,
We are afraid to be with others.

Our lives became a string of excuses woven with fear.

We don't expand to experience Life,
We contract because of Fear.

We're often guided through our lives by the ideas of other people.
We try to realize someone else's dreams, their ambitions, their ideas of who we should become and what we should value.

It's often our parents, spouses, community we live in or simply society at large.
Our world it seems is built on Shoulds and Musts.
It is feebly constructed from norms, taboos and trends.

We conform to this assemblage of random of ideas and treat it as a code.
We subdue ourselves to it, let it shape our decision space, shape our lives.

We slowly erode the being we were born as.
We betray the values that come from within, worship foreign ideas instead.

We slowly forget what is it that we are here for,
We get lost and forget who we are.

It's a path of misery...

But that Being is still there, deep inside, waiting.
Waiting to emerge, disrupt, demand to be acknowledged and honoured.

It is there to remind you who you are,
Steer you back on your true path.

It is your Soul, your true essence, your Truth.
It will show you the beauty of Life.
It will guide you like no other.

It won't be easy, it will be tough at times.
It won't be a ride, it will be adventure.

It will show you who you really are,
If you care to pay attention, to ask and listen...

What is it that guides you throughout your life?

Not that many years ago, the world was much different.

There were no bananas in shops (at least where I was born).

Strawberries were eaten in July, we didn't have them all year round.They were smaller than they are these days but they still had the sweet smell and taste of beautiful Summer. Sweet, refreshing with fullness of flavour.
It was an experience...
It was special...

You could find pears and plums growing on the trees by the side of the roads.
It was a time of no chemical pesticides.
You could just eat straight off the tree.
That's how it was back then. Isn't it like it should be?
It was an experience...
It was special...

You could find magnificent, old Cherry trees, full of beautiful flowers in May.
You knew that soon, Nature will share with you these amazingly tasting fruit.
It was an experience...
It was special...

We've waited for apples till their time to ripen.
We didn't have supermarkets, therefore we didn't have all kinds of apples from France, New Zealand or all year round like we have now.
Apples tasted much better then.
It was an experience...
It was special...

We've baked our own bread.
Bread a butter was enough to put a smile on ones face.
Lard was still a good and healthy fat.
We drank fresh and tasty water.
It was an experience...
It was special...

We still had real milk.
Not pasteurized, not chlorinated, fresh and fatty.

We prepared our own food.
We ate everything and very happy and healthy.
It was an experience...
It was special...

There were chickens but there were no cages.
Chickens were running free and happy.
They were still part of our lives.
Eggs were healthy and valued.
It was an experience...
It was special...

The rivers and lakes were clean and full of fish.
We catched fish, cooked it in Nature.
Fat was dripping from our elbows.
It was an experience...
It was special...

The air was fresh and clean.
We still admired the beauty of clear and beautiful skies.
We still noticed the stars of the amazing night sky.
We gazed and we pondered...

We were still gazing into each other's eyes at that time.
There was no shame.
We were honest and open.

We were standing together, living together.
We've felt like we've been part of Nature, like we've belonged.
It was an experience...
It was special...

We've worked hard...
We were free...

Until we've started cutting corners...
We've moved away from it all.
Lost the gratitude and appreciation.
Gave it all up...

We've traded it for fast and cheap, artificial and delivered.

Are there any corners left to cut?

We've stopped facing the truth...

We go about our days lying to ourselves and others.
We pretend everything is OK, everything is fine.

We don't see the truth, far removed from reality.

We don't see that:

• our governments oppress us
• we keep choosing different parties but the degeneration continues
• we are the sickest species on Earth
• we are the weakest species on Earth
• we're acting like children and treated as such by "authorities"
• we are irresponsible and childish
• we are degenerate society
• we're running away from problems
• we're all addicts in one way or another
• media is lying to us all the time
• governments don't rule, they follow orders of people behind the scenes
• our taxes fund wars
• our buying habits perpetuate exploitation
• the agriculture is destroying the environment
• what we're eating is mostly NOT food
• we're deevolving rather than evolving
• we're slaves to a system that theoretically supposed to serve us
• we are govern by degenerates and psychopats

We also fail to notice that:

• no one will save us, we are the ones that can make a difference
• we can make things better
• we do matter, what we do everyday matters
• we are more powerful than we're led to believe
• our daily choices build the world we live in
• we have to come together
• we have to start cooperating
• we can build a great future, NOW
• we do have intelligence, we just have start using it
• strong individual = strong community
• voting with our money is more powerful than voting in elections

We can't trust in governments to create the World we want for us.
They don't have our interest at heart and they don't represent us.

We can make things better, but we have to stop waiting for someone to save us. We're the ones that have to take the responsibility for our lives and make this change ourselves.

Together.

You know that right?

However strong we cling to what we have, we'll have to at some point in our lives relinquish the control, let go, say goodbye, come to terms with the loss.

It seems to be a sign of maturity to be fully capable to go through the process of grief associated with loss and come out on the other side, with space to receive anew.

It also seems that we generally don't have a problem with receiving new things.
We do however struggle greatly with letting go and grieving. It is perhaps a reason why our appetites are insatiable, while we don't seem to have capacity to appreciate the things we receive, therefore always looking for the next thing.

Kind of like a child that has too many toys to choose from therefore quickly loses interest in all of them, never getting to explore a single one of them on a deeper level.

Skimming through the surface...

The only "thing" we truly own, the one that will be with us till our last breath is our body. Sometimes it seems, it's the last one we appreciate and care about.

It is the body through which we experience our lives, ourselves, Nature, other people. It is our body that lets us experience the beauty of Life that surrounds us and permiates everything our senses are able to touch, and more...

How often are you in your body?
How often are you present?

Where is your attention...?
How deep is your gaze...?

Nothing is forever...

It seems that the cost of Freedom it too high to bear by most.
We gave away our Freedom for an illusion of security.

I see this weird dynamic around.
We, seemingly adult people act like children,
asking "authorities" to guide, to take care of us, to provide, to save us.

This is our culture now.
This is what we've become.

Weak, immature and totally dependent.
Fearful, Broken and Divided...

What happened to honor, dignity, courage?
It seems we traded virtues for vices.

The cost of Freedom is to stand for one's principles.
It means to live by values and be ready to die to protect them.

When we gave our lives away, why do we grasp so hard to prolong them?
What worth is life after betraying one's Self?

There is not universal answer,
Each of us has to answer this question themselves.

We Need To Grow Up

Yes, we do.

We need to stop acting like children.
We're only treated like children, because we act like children.

We need to ask ourselves what's really worth in life?
What is it we're trying to preserve and protect?

We're in great need to wake up to the reality of the world we live in.
We're on our knees...

We need to come together,
We need to create, build, make...

We ought to be more than mere consumers.
We're creators by Nature...

We can create the world our children would be proud to inherit.
We can do this together.

But first, we must grow up individually.
We must take responsibility for our own lives.

We must work hard,
We must face our fears.

There are no given rights,
All animals must fight for their lives and their Freedom and we are no different.

If we won't fight for our Freedom,
We simply don't deserve it.

We all have to be Leaders,
We have to bear the Cost of Freedom.

I'm looking at my own life.
How it changed over they years.

My life is increasingly simple. Down to Earth.
Simplicity, it seems has more depth to it than can be noticed by a restless eye.

Simple things are complex under the surface.
Simple things though are unattractive to the eye that seeks the artificial beauty.

When I look around, I see a giant vacuum cleaner sucking in everything in vicinity.
Insatiable hunger, for more and bigger...

What keeps us full and filled?
Is it: "things we have" or "beings we are"?

Can things we seek, replace the love we've lost?
Can entertainment replace human connection?

Is the meaning found in having much or being more...
Or maybe, being less...

What does it mean to be Human?

Is Human the Conqueror or the Steward?
Is Human a Boss or a Leader?

Why are we so restless?
What are we seeking?

Why enough is not enough?

I see the World getting smaller, hiding behind the horizon,
as it moves further and further from where I stand...

I turn around, walk the other way...

Your first thought might be that the post will be of making your life into a service to others. While it's a noble goal, today I want to write about something else.

I want to write about a life in which every aspect of it becomes a service provided to you.

It would be life in which you don't really use or even acquire any skills that are needed for your survival, because all the necessities are being provided to you by an entity, for a price.

We have been moving towards such a reality for quite a while already. We are doing less and less of basic tasks like chopping wood to heat the house or raise animals and grow crops to put the food on a table. Heating usually coming with the bill and food comes from the supermarket, or a takeaway.

We no longer fix our cars, radios and bikes. There's someone we pay to do it or we simply buy a new thing. We no longer gather water, catch fish and repair our socks. This outsourcing or every aspect of our life maintenance tasks is making us weak, vulnerable. Everything in our lives seems to have a monthly installment that comes with it. Life became an almost maintenance free string of often meaningless work that brings no real value in order to pay for things we could do ourselves and with benefit to ourselves and others.

We no longer know how to take care of ourselves. Take away the electricity and the taps run dry, cash machines stop working. Where do we get the water from?

And what if a virus spreads around and people start to buy everything they can in panic. What do we do then, when the shelves are empty? Is there someone coming to the rescue?

In our relentless search for comfort and indulgence in laziness we have got the the point of losing our resiliency, strength, willpower, discipline, skill...

We have lost the real values, swapping them for trinkets and a fantasy of easier is always better. We have cut every corner we could have.

And while we are getting weaker by the day, there are those who benefit.

Supermarkets do not want you to buy at the farmer's market.
Supermarkets do not want you to grow your own food.
Energy companies prefer that you use their electricity instead of gathering your own wood.
Food companies do not want you to buy meat from your local farmer, they prefer that you buy their processed garbage. They make tones of money selling it.
They do not really even want you to eat the fresh vegetables despite pushing vegan diet onto the world. They'll process them on the cheap and sell it to you quadruple charge.

They constantly, relentlessly whisper to your ears about how easy and simple life can be, just eat this, take this pill, drink that and take this loan. And you need to have this new thing and don't forget to buy that... We fall for the idea of buying all this stuff we don't need to make more time for ourselves while spending all this time making money to pay for it.

Moments like this, when the virus comes along, the bubble bursts and the truth comes out. I only just wonder whether it'll be enough for us to finally see it.

But what do we do you ask? The solution for this is what I have written a long time ago about: Personal Responsibility.

Those who feel powerless, ask for change,
Those who have power, create it.

We are standing on the streets, loudly repeating the globalists slogans while standing knee deep in trash we can not see.

How is it that we got so swayed, somehow fascinated and distracted by the urge to "save the planet", while being totally sensless to the destruction of our lives closest to us?

We seem to get very busy and emotional with abstract things outside of our reach that we can't directly influence, while totally ignoring the mayhem around us that we can do so much about.
How is it that we are feeling so powerless about it?
How did we got to a place where we believe it is better to demand change that to create it ourselves?

We want to scream at the governments and corporations to change, while we are the ones that need to change them, by changing ourselves. Why do we think they will change if we scream at them and not if we stop paying them for the things we want changed?

Lots of us see the problem in our economical system, monetary system yet can't understand that we are the ones that keep it going as it is. Somehow we lost faith in our own power, we lost sight of the fact that our daily actions are more powerful than our faith in the will of the politicians and corporations to change their way. And why would they? We give them enormous amounts of money to keep the status quo. We finance them with our actions on one side and oppose them with our angry words.

We are being led to think we are uniting to fight for some great cause, while we are just a mass of divided people repeating huge words after each other. I do not see unity here, I see more division than ever.

The change is action in our local communities, coming together, working together, making things happen.

If We want less plastic our forests and our oceans, We stop buying the plastic!
If We want less pollution, We stop paying the polluters for their products!
If We want less cruelty in animal agriculture, We stop paying for it, We pay small farmers that treat ther animals fairly.
If We want healthy, non GMO vegetables We don't pay the companies that sell them.

I hear You say, some of us can't afford better quality food.
I agree...

That's where We have to come together, start growing food together, make sacrifices, reshape the communities,bring our families and communities together again, bring resilience into them, help each other, support each other. We are the ones that need to change. We need to stop being a tool and start being the ones using it.

We can't go on divided, We can only do this together.

I often hear about how fertilizers and pesticides are destroying the Soil,. Not often though people speak about the whole process of the Soil and environment degradation which starts way before the chemicals are being used. I wanted to describe how I see the degradation of the environment by our current industrial farming practces.

It starts off with the destruction of the habitat by eliminating the biodiversity of the land. Where once were the lush pastures with multitude species of grasses and flowers, interspersed with bushes and trees, all being the habitat and food source for enormous amount of pollinators and other insects, rodents, birds, herbovires like rabbits and deer, we get the monoculture of peanuts, soy, corn, wheat or other highly subsidized and profitable monocrops.

It's a huge loss of life that no vegans, demanding all of humanity going "vegan" in the name of "no harm to animals and saving the environment", are accounting for.

What comes next is plowing this barren fields which destroys the underground life of earthworms, fungi and bacteria which intricate relationships and cooperation make growing of our food possible.

Then comes the erosion of the plowed land, the degradation of the once alive soil turned into dirt devoid of life. Loss of organic matter that would soak up the excess of rain water makes floods possible and more common. Sun, wind and rain are taking away what's left of once fertile soil.

The land that once hosted an enormous biodiversity of perrenial plants, pulling the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, now is a home for genetically modified, quick growing annual crops that are pulling the nutrients out of the soil, depleting it.

Chemicals, fertilizers, perticides, herbicides, fungicides not only kill what life might be left, but also stopping any new life from reemerging.

The thing is it's not only this area of the land that suffers. It's the whole chain of events that are being put in motion because of this. The loss of animal life and biodiversity - the Extinction no one Rebels against, the loss of life in lakes and rivers polluted with chemicals, the destruction of this carbon sink, carbon dioxide once stored in the organic matter of the Soil now released to the atmosphere, the enormous waste of resources like water, fossil fuels to make this way of farming possible.

What about the enormous amounts of water used to irrigate those hecateres upon hectares of monocrop fields? The depleted aquifiers?

No one seems to see the hidden cost of the highly processed fake vegan meats and products made of Pea protein isolate, soy, corn and other inventions that destroy our Soil, our Environment and our Health.

For the longest time, I kept hearing these phrases: "love yoursef", "accept yourself". For the longest time they been puzzling, empty expressions that I couldn't grasp the full meaning of.

Now I understand that all these things we don't like about ourselves,
these angry reactions, being lazy, procrastinating, our addictions, vices etc.
These are the abandoned and suppressed parts of ourselves that are acting out, buried in the subconscious, the coping mechanisms created in our childhood.

It can only help to stop judging ourselves and our behaviours,
stop "fuck, what's wrong with me", "how could I do this again".
We will never integrate these parts if we keep repeating the behaviour that alienated and suppressed them in the first place.

That loss of our natural self, animal spontaneous self through "civilising" us by our parents (and them by their parents, and...) and effect of their own trauma on us.
The wisdom, intuition, knowing, feeling, being, we so struggle to achieve...

Unaccepted...

Suppressed, just to haunt us in adulthood,
as it is us now, turned against ourselves,
playing the role of the judge, the perpetrator, releasing the arrows...

So to accept ourselves means to acknowledge that all these behaviours,
everything we do not like in ourselves,
all we want to change, to be different and better...

All of it needs our compassion, our love, our smile and hug.
To be seen and heard by no one else but ourselves.
As it is nothing else but the essential part of ourselves,
without which we are forever bound to feel inadequate,
lacking, empty, guilty and powerless...

Addiction is often described as a huge problem. The number of people addicted to substances is staggering. Apart freom the substance addiction, we also get addicted to shopping, pornography, food, gaming, work, internet amongst other things.

In my view addiction though is not a root problem.
Addiction is just a symptom.

It's a symptom of an emotional dysfunction, often resulting in childhood trauma. None of the mentioned behaviours are inherently addictive. It's the character structure of a person, the defenses and coping mechanisms that lead people to these compulsive behaviours.

We tend to partake in those behaviours to distract ourselves from emotional pain, to change our emotional state, to feel more alive, to stimulate our senses.

In our culture we make the addiction the villain, something to fight with, without ever understanding it, without ever looking deeper. It seems we use this manner of being in all our endevours, creating more problems than solutions and forever chasing our own tail.

Next time you see an addict, try to see through it.
Try to see a human being in suffering.
Have compassion.

And more so, if you partake in any addictive behaviours,
stop fighting it for a moment,
stop judging it,
have compassion for yourself,
ask what is it you are running away from,
what is the pain,
what is it you are denying in yourself.

And maybe as you let yourself hear the answer,
you'll find a rising spaceousness,
a sense of freedom from the very thing you've been bound by.

Did you ever notice, how lonely it can get when you are surrounded by more and more people?

Cities are full of lonely people.
And people are full of ideas...

What is it, that makes us lonely?
Could it be the ideas we have about ourselves?
The ideas about how one should be, behave, look.
The ideas of what should one value, of what's important.

The ideas anyone seem to ever question.
Where do these ideas come from?
Are they real?
Why do they become the "truth" most people live by?

How are you feeling surrounded by these ideas?

You are free to be who you are inside your four walls.
The moment you step outside, you step into the world of these ideas.
Do you feel the pressure their create?

Did you buy the last pair of shoes because YOU like them or because current trends demand it?
Did you decide on a car that is functional or one that would impress your neighbour?

We live our lives rarely aware of the fact how these ideas infiltrate our mind, how they influence our decisions and shape our lives.

We look around, we copy and paste...
We conform...

What do we even have those "biggest brains" for?
We sure ain't using them...

This will be just a short rant...

It's so laud about "global warming", "climate change" these days. There's a lot of fear, ideas, movements, money made and drama overall.

Here's what is really annoying about it.

The fear as a primary motivation!

Forget about the "Climate Change" for a moment...
Do you think what we do on this planet is OK?
Deforestation, plastic shit everywhere, degradation of soil, pollution of air and water, wild life going extinct...

Somehow it feels to me that if not for the "Climate Change" alarm, no one would even fucking notice...

You REALLY want to "save the planet"?

Stop buying processed shit in plastic containers and pretend it's food. Not only will you improve the health of yourself and your children, you will also reduce the plastic pollution. They keep wrapping everything in plastic because we keep paying for the stuff that's wrapped in it. What? little Freddy needs his gummy bears in a plastic bag? Buy him a locally grown apples, he'll have a tantrum, cry for a bit, then get over it and become a happy, healthy human being again. You will also save on ADD meds he would eventually need.

Stop buying at supermarkets, buy at farmer markets and local small shops instead. The only reason small shops are going extinct is because we stopped buying from them and give our money to supermarkets for their processed garbage and low quality produce instead. We need to reverse the trend.

Start cooking at home. People became sick, obese, insuline injecting, deevolving animals. What happened? We went from home grown, home cooked meals with a nice cup of herbal tea to store bought, microwaved, highly processed fake foods drowned in liquid sugar. Do we really still need to ask question what the fuck is happening to us? Maybe we just need another diet?

Start growing food. Living in the city? Get an allotment, create community garden with neighbours. You will improve your health, your connection with yourself through nature, build community, create resilience and security and if you plant some trees you will invest in the future of yours, your kids and all Life on this planet.

To "save the planet" we need to shift the ratio of consumers to producers in the favour of the latter. We need to start using our brains and our hearts.

Take some fucking responsibility!