Mind The Masters
HELLO BEAUTIFUL,
Words cannot contain us. I’m not sure why I even try to communicate with words, and yet… words are still awfully pretty. Don’t you think? We made words. We created vocabularies. There are 6,500 spoken human languages, roughly, in the world today. Six thousand fix hundred… that’s incredible.
You know we get A LOT wrong. We really do. We kill elephants. Elephants are secret sages, and their specie’s language happens to be far more complex than anything we’ve yet developed; strung together with vocal sounds. And that’s because, it isn’t vocal… their language, the language of elephants (well, not all of it, they certainly do like to trumpet and grunt…) but the majority of their communicative web happens to exist through a sort of telepathic humming. It’s something we can’t “hear” with human ears. Their language is so evolved thats it’s gone beyond what we humans can understand, can take-apart-and-put-back-together-again… and so foolishly (oh so foolishly…) we dub elephants “less intelligent,” we dub elephants “less complex,” than us. We think we’re the ones with the “great big highly evolved” brains. Hmph.
Umm, excuse my incredulity but… have you seen how big an elephant’s head is? And I just pulled a few stats: the elephant brain, at 4.5-5 kg, is about 3-4 times larger than ours, than the human brain. Do you really think that all that extra space is just “empty, unutilized, waste?” No. I mean c’mon… it really isn’t about which came first: the chicken or the egg… it’s about “what am I?” And “why have I split, into so many fragments?” “Why am I… now limited?” It’s about “why do I feel sadness, and why must I now hold you, to complete me?” And oh my god, oh starry cosmos… “I don’t have enough arms.”
It’s terrifying, to be human; to be a human. Even Shakespeare, arguably our greatest human orator, word-maker, language-weaver of all time realized at the end of an unraveling thread it just comes down to one sprawling precipice; to an amorphous, nearly incomprehensible step over the temporal, matter-strung ledge (tick-tock, time pops, whoosh up as heart stops,) a drop from flesh into something unchained from the aching of the ages, from age upon age of solitary confinement, trapped in a vessel with only words as a porthole, as a window to look through and clumsily grasp, intake and draw near the external view; for without my surroundings, without you as part of my being, as woven in whole, as bound for eternity upon eternity of star-twinkling reach, without you beloved creature - “what am I, for what reason do I breathe?” Hamlet… he took a breath, he wept, he bemoaned to the sky (or at least he should have, I would have; had I been born male, able the chance to inhabit the “greatest character ever composed,” ever morphed from the depths of human imagination or so it is “said…”) to be, or not to be… because it sucks, fuck it’s so hard… to rely on these lungs, to spin with such constant opposition; polarization of internal thoughts, of exterior images. I’m not even half way through my so-called “earth journey,” and the only thing I know for certain is that I am EXHAUSTED; literally depleted, so tired and so lost and guess what, here comes the greatest human endeavor yet… a global pandemic, in the age of our technological adolescence; that’s right… literally the most advanced human predator (we are NOT at the top of the food chain; it’s a CIRCLE of dependency) advances its shape-shifting abilities and hops on over to our genome complex, to hijack and make a cozy home of our cellular structure, wrecking havoc on the human physical body at the exact same point along the curve in human evolution where are our technological maturity level is at the equivalent of what might be called our “teenage years;” a period of human development marked by the onset of puberty and commonly known for its span of heightened inner discord, due to morphing states of the human mental and the human emotional bodies; aka the years of poor decision making…
In the year 2020 (let me spell this out, “word for word…”) a deadly virus globally attacks the human physical form, whilst globally, as a species, we’ve just handed ourselves the keys to a car; a car we’re not yet mature enough to operate safely; because our brain biology is changing rapidly, and our emotional hardwiring is under the pressure of constant hormonal fluctuation; we’re growing up and it’s a beautiful thing, but we are simply not ready to drive by ourselves the machine of artificial intelligence; to hold it in our hands and to balance its powers against a temperance driven by empathy, driven by compassion, driven by healthy self-efficacy and a ready willingness to take responsibility for our place in the universe, for one’s unity to all things. And yet, here we are… we’re already speeding down the lanes, we’re swerving between the lines… we’re reckless, and we’re paying the consequences. Our planet is dying; and we can’t even agree on whether it’s round, or whether it’s flat… yes, we are back to that; because the misinformation and the mistrust and misjudgment is so wildly out-of-whack between us. We are now, right there at the edge, we are a species looking out over the cliff - in the throws of complete system breakdown; physically, mentally, emotionally spiraling out of control - to be, or not to be; this is the only relevant inquiry now - do we step off and drop, let the abyss swallow us up, or do we dig in and dig deep, reach for a different kind of language, some new way of speaking, of exchanging information, of interrelating? Because we’re not doing a very good job; we’re not nailing it - communicating; interconnecting with one another - there has to be a better way; there has to be a better way to live, to exist, in human harmony. There has to be something beyond words, beyond the spoken language; this feeble, primitive way of expressing what it is “I AM”, what it is “YOU ARE,” what it is “WE WANT.”
And there is.
It’s already here in the world, it’s already being used. They know the unspoken secrets. Elephants know; they’re like our grown-up older siblings. Elephants can show us the way, they can show us how us to connect and to exchange more gracefully. Elephants are secret, old sages. They are heavy-footed, thunder-stepping, ancient mages; dressed in garbs of rough, fissured skin with the longstanding hallmark of timeworn wisdom; exaggerated features… big ears, long trunk. As we hone our understanding of this planet, we grow at both ends of the spectrum, becoming simultaneously more and more externally, individualistically unique (an outward expression; insert words like “outer, “extrinsic,” “exoteric” ) - while harmoniously and in conjunction - becoming more and more simplistic in terms of cell identification, distilling every perceived internal “division” into a single point of illuminated flowing cohesion (an inward connection, an unspoken, vibrant earth-dialogue, commune with The One; insert words like “intimate,” “intrinsic,” “esoteric.” ) Elephants look “funny” to us - their facial assemblage is odd, their enormous size is too much, their external appearance is zoo-worthy; they seem “weird,” “peculiar” - but that’s because they’re a lot further along in their understanding of All Things. Outwardly they’re becoming an expressed entity of imaginative perfection (there is nothing else, no creature on earth even comparable in physique or external look to the sheer, exacting creativity of configuration, to the immeasurable particularities, to the flat-out bizarre and inexplicably delightful arrangement of the elephant anatomy… a snout that hangs six feet long, a single, solitary appendage that can become rigidly taut and superbly pliable, that is so strong and yet so flexible that it can wrap around and uproot massive physical objects while at the same time providing the capacity to carry water; an appendage with over 100,000 individual muscle units and a tip so sensitive and so dextrous that it can gently grasp, examine and behold a sliver of anything, a blade of grass; it can twist, it can bend, it can shorten, it can lengthen, it can act like a highly versatile and pressure receptive hydraulic system; able to perform some physical activities we humans haven’t dared comprehend…. snorkeling, underwater exploration without aid; without the need for masks, gear, equipment, nor assistance of any kind, of any invention.) An elephant’s trunk is the most versatile tool on the planet; and it’s anatomical, it’s a facet of their physiology. Elephants triumph over humans, over the concoction of every tool we’ve ever conspired to build, to use, to manipulate and reproduce; elephants have evolved their own anatomy to aid, serve and better their lives, rather than exploit and rearrange autonomous parts of our universe (the human way of doing things.) Now you might say… “well, I never seen an elephant build a rocket and travel to the moon; stab it’s flag into a dusty crater…) and I’d say “well, that’s because… an elephant already knows the moon’s atmospheric environment is not worth the trip… there’s no drinkable water, no breathable oxygen, there’s no way to be on the moon; better to take a visit to the dentist, which for an elephant is no joke (six foot long incisor teeth, you get the point… ouch.)
There’s no where else to go; no other astral object, no other planet. There’s no where else to be… should we choose to exist. And elephants get that, that’s why they’re perfecting it… earth life inhabitance. It doesn’t matter that we’re killing them off in droves, because their species… will carry on; even if we’re not around to witness the rebuild, even if humans are no longer strolling the surfaces of earth… elephants will make their comeback. Because elephants are in-tune; they’re playing it well, they’re playing their part… they’re playing their magical note; perfecting their uniqueness, their individual bit in the symphony of All That Is.
And this is important… be it is a symphony; the universe… it’s an elaborate musical composition; a mixture of many things, of many ingredients, of many constituents… each brining their own inherent value and musical tone to blend, merge, and sync with the rest in a divine orchestration of unspeakably beautiful, expanding, infinite love. And it’s so humbling, to be a member of this reverent dream… to speak, and to intertwine, with the other members… to be communicating on that level. This is hard for us, this is hard for humans to understand… because we’ve been off; we’ve been a discordant tone for so long… but there’s something happening between elephants, between members of their species, and between… well, actually between all members of the living dream except us, something happening between everything on earth except the modern human that facilities balanced exchange; a give and a take. It’s what humans don’t see, it’s the language we don’t hear - it’s the other end of the spectrum, as opposed to individualistic growth and self-actualization, and self-prioritization; the expansion and the refinement of the external form, in all its molds - it’s the internal hum. This hum is the language we ignore, and we ignore it because we think it’s too simple. When in truth, it’s the most highly evolved, a sophisticated, implicit language… so refined, and so without flaw…. that it allows for this supreme, primordial dance to occur, and to continue to evolve and to expand within it’s own framework… it’s that gentle, and that powerful; it can contain and nurture every change; it not only allows for bio-diversity, it’s the most loving birther-of-life that whispers to each and every one of its precious children… “fly as high as you dare, swim as far as you can reach, crawl, slither, swing… my darling think, think, think; create, invent, beam brilliant… but don’t forget, still there are times it’s best to hold my hand, to let me show you how to cross the street before you leap; because trust me and listen closely… earth-inhabitance can be dangerous… and I don’t want to loose you, I don’t want to let go… until in return I can trust and I can observe, that you’re ready… to make, and to create, wisely, in harmony with past, present and future selves.” This birther-of-life, this all-knowing parent (call it “god,” call it “nature,” call it “source,” call it a “trove of turtle doves,” if you want; they’re just words) this diaphanous light we’re just beginning to appreciate as the fabric “all” is cut from, as an “original cell,” as our “primary self” is the True Creator-Of-Language. And the Creator’s Language is so bright (we use more words to help us cope; big words like “deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA,” and oxymoronic words like “space-time,” and “black-holes,” and flat out really fun words like “shit-i-don’t-get-it” and “onomatopoeia;” so many words to try to get close…) it’s so bright, the Creator’s Language, it’s a big-banging, spherical bloom (we use metaphors,) it’s a star, no… it’s all the stars glowing, burning, illuminating with the steady-inner-flame of doubt-free consciousness... it’s ablaze, it’s so bright and it’s so borderless it can’t be captured. It’s a never-ending swan song, it’s a climatic performance that just keeps blossoming; it’s a mystifying, sparkling jewel of limitless shine somehow shared equally between all members of the elephant-species, between all members of the living dream who choose to listen… a mode of information translation so complex it never relied on the basic receiver input of five primary senses; sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. It goes beyond… this inner knowing; an elephant’s connectivity, their exchanged language… to a sort of telepathic (my words are limited here…) a sort of telepathic sixth-sense; a sort of cell level communication. They hum with each other, they hum together… all the living kingdom (albeit humans) and it is a frequency outside the capacity of auditory abilities, of visual recognition, and this part isn’t a metaphor; it’s actually happening… this humming, this exchange of the life-force… and it’s simply too eloquent; it’s a language currently beyond the grasp of human reach. We can get brief glimpses, of this language - when we meditate, when we pray; when we smile for no reason and a smile flashes back - but we can’t hold it yet, this language; we can’t walk with it in our hand. We’re still playing with words… scribbles of form and vocal cords; toy blocks and plastic phones.
It’s funny. We study them. Humans… we study elephants… our human scientists; all of us. And we’ve concluded some things. We think “they’re pretty smart.” They pass on an understanding of “social etiquette and migratory paths from a herd matriarch to younger members of the group.” They seem to have an “intuitive draw to sources of water.” They seem to have “strong familial bonds,” they seem to “mourn their dead.” If you give an elephant a paintbrush, it can “hold it” with it’s trunk (we talked about how that works) and it can “draw” for you, by “dipping the brush” in colored paints… a little house, with a sky, and a sun. Of course you have to set up the easel, and the canvas… the elephant doesn’t seem to have any inclination towards wanting to do that… and come to think of it, an elephant doesn’t seem overly interested in colored paints and an artistic rendering of a happy little stick life. But you can teach them, you can teach elephants, that’s the point… right? You can teach an elephant to express itself artistically… or at least to mimic artistic expression, and this is important because artistic expression is a high form of intelligence. We do have that figured out, already… “we know that.” It’s why we act, and it’s why we dance. It’s why we draw, and it’s why we sing, we sing songs… it’s why we have museums, and libraries, collections of books and books, so many books… because this how best to connect, because this is how to learn about the world, and each other; this is how best to share knowledge, to share what we think and what we feel… we do it through art, we do it through artistic expression, we do it through language. We have 6,500 languages and counting, we might make more. Because we humans… we know we need to communicate; we need a space to share our feelings and our thoughts, whilst leaving sacred space for other humans to share their feelings and their thoughts in a collective blend of universally expanding wisdom, because we understand (as the most highly evolved species - or, actually no, we need to evolve more, we’re not evolved enough.) Anyway, it’s important to understand that diversity, and bio-diversity… is a sign of growth. And it should be protected, diversity should be protected… and idiosyncratic traits are the hallmark of a species perfecting its ability to successfully prolong and propagate its species…. we inhabit earth…
And humans need to understand… we understand… that… I might be a little bit confused… umm…diversity… diversity can only occur within a species… willing to protect its internal connection, it’s internal conversation… an internal, continuous dialogue with the cosmos, and with the seemingly separated fragments of its self, and the other members of its so called species… actually “other members” refers to each and every living thing…
Excuse me… I feel a little sick. And my heart is racing. I feel lightheaded… I thought… I thought I knew what I was doing, I thought I knew what I was saying. I was so sure… I was so sure of myself. It made sense… we get a lot wrong…
My beautiful friend… do you know what’s happening to me?
I’m so sad.
I feel lost.
I could draw you a picture, I could write you a poem. I could write you this love letter… am I getting closer?
I just want so, so deeply… so, so earnestly… for you not to be separate from me. I feel this urge…
And I think the word… I think the human word, we use for... for this mysterious vacancy, for this thing I crave… is unconditional love. I think that’s what I want… right here, right now… in all its forms, in countless, infinite ways… I think that’s what I’m trying to say…
I’m sorry. I have to stop. I have to stop writing now. If this was a book, this is right where you’d turn the page… and in doing so, would be transported smack-dab to the center, the center of my pulsing heart. I’d hold you there, I’d say your name… and then we’d disappear.
Allow me to leave it here, this is my very best attempt:
The language of love is an infinite as its parts, as its players, as its conveyors; the music-makers… like an electrical current, steadily it flows through a closed circuit; and how bright your light, depends upon how high your wattage. A heart pulses, the center star… I plug in, I feel the current surge… inhale, breath. I am bright, I am a glowing orb on earth. Oh… but look to the left; the Asian jungles… and to the right; the African plains… there lives a creature; a master among us, who glows with such force… the burn of ten thousand humans to one.
Seek and you shall find. Mind your masters. Silence.
Stop killing elephants fool.
Learn the language of spirit.
Isn’t it pretty… we’re still here, we’re still alive; looking out over the cliff, the view is nice… we’re still trying.
I love you, so much.
