Tribal Spirituality

I've been perusing the Homestead Forum. I love that place, there are so many nice, generous, and helpful people, with great senses of humor.

One of the latest posts was called "The Red Road" and it got me thinking. I've always admired the Native American tribal way of life. Nomadic. Giving more than they take. Taking only what they need, and ALWAYS being thankful....to the Great Spirit, to Mother Earth, to the animal that gives its life so that the family can eat.

I wish we would get back to this way of living. There is something about "community" that we are lacking today. I think this is also why our children have gone astray and have so little respect for their parents or elders in general. Theres way too much "disconnect" with this ever widening chasm between the younger of our generations and the older generations. There is no community anymore where people actually LIVE to help others, because nobody *needs* anyone else anymore.

Children and youth don't think they need their parents or their grandparents, because its so easy to "make it" on their own (or so it appears to them). After all, groceries are one store away. TV is instant entertainment that does not require interaction with anyone else. The computer offers faceless communication where too much is shared on a public forum, friendship is defined as "someone I met on myspace", and instant messaging allows for "friendships" with those we've never even seen.

When we don't NEED each other, we don't CARE anymore. That is such a selfish way to live. Maybe its better to NEED each other, because it brings out the best in all of us. Perhaps if we led lives that created the NEED for each other, we'd be taking a big risk that our needs might not be met. But the payoff would be the building of solid friendships, based on real trust in others that live next door to us.

When we live the life that gives more than it takes, and takes more than it needs, I suppose that sets everyone up for needing each other....and that creates a community based on giving to and serving others.

In this day and age, it is just way too easy for anyone to get lost in the crowd of facelessness. One need never leave his own home, and still all his needs can be met. But how fulfilling can that be? Isolation breeds loneliness for most people. Loneliness breeds depression and anxiety. Could this be why so many more people are depressed and anxious than ever before? Could this be why children suffer from burnout and depression? Because instead of building solid and trusting and REAL relationships with REAL people, they are oversheduled, and their lives are overstructured. I mean really...every hour of the day is spent with someone our kids only know by their last name (Mrs. Teacher, Mr. Coach), who tells them what to think and do all day. How is that a relationship? And with their time filled with activities and homework to do, when do children have the time to build real relationships with real people?

No wonder this world is inundated with depression. Really, how much more awful can it get? Its time to get back to the simpler life, where we NEED and SUPPORT each other.