Griffin

Human Domestication: Sickness of Seperation

Retrieved on 1 January 2004 from www.rewild.org

Domestication is the systematic process of removing a plant or animal from the rhythms & cycles of the natural world. Domesticated beings exist in an environment created & controlled by the human species & function for the sole benefit of human endeavors. The human animal is just as much a part of the circle of life as any other mammal & to be removed from this circle creates a climate of perpetual stress. The effects of a stark disconnection from nature can be observed in zoo animals & pets, manifesting as neurosis, depression, anxiety, apathy, codependence & a host of other psychological reactions to an unhealthy environment.

In the tigress pacing her cage we see our reflection.

Fortunately, humans have not lived this way long enough to become genetically adapted to it. Our place for countless generations has been as close to the earth as we can be. Even as agriculture drew us slowly from our trust in the bounty of the Mother, & temporarily allowed our populations to swell beyond carrying capacity, we still retained a diminishing connection with the cycles of wildness. It is only very recently in human history that the break from nature has become so complete. Industrial manufacturing & monoculture farming have become our surrogate Mother.

Each one of us is a wild animal suffering, isolated from our true livelihoods & homes in the arms of our true Mother. Our civilized conditioning makes us dependent & weak but we still yearn for the freedom of wildness & the deep satisfaction of living out our feral destinies as a part of the community of life. What we are trying to create is an environment conducive to healing from our self-perpetuated domestication:

We want to relearn the life skills that allow us to shed our dependence on civilization & put new trust in the Land to provide for us.

We want to release our addictions to the many activities & substances that make civilized life bearable.

We want to relearn how to live with others & create a life built on honor & respect.

We want to reawaken our atrophied senses & experience the full lushness of life.

We want to heal our damaged minds & bodies from the trauma of domestication & live in balance as our ancestors once did.

We are born wild. It takes years of socializing to subdue the power & beauty of a child’s primal instincts. This process is reversible. It is possible to become feral by overcoming the numbness of the civilized condition & become fully human. We can be wild again.