“The 20th-century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of Africa where the plant-human symbiosis occurred that pulled us out of the animal body and into the tool-using, culture-making, imagination-exploring creature that we are. And why does this matter? It matters because it shows that the way out is back and that the future is a forward escape into the past. This is what the psychedelic experience means. Its a doorway out of history and into the wiring under the board in eternity.”- Terence McKenna
The intelligence of old people is like a petal, it’s sometimes hidden. When an old person wants to teach a lesson, they shroud it in mysteries and share it in adages, we often act confused and wonder why they simply can’t be clear enough? But in reality, “isn’t wisdom profitable to the wise?.” Let me share a story, one which happened a long while ago, before those of us that exist in this present century, ever dreamt of existing.
There lived a yellow bird, which was known to have flown from beyond this very land, lost by the winds, drifted its wings away from its entire flock, during one solemn night of migration. The winds didn’t stop until it took it beyond the seas, towards our land, in the sacred forest, it landed finally on an old oak tree, where it built its nest, out of remnants of the forest, it was avoided by other birds in our land since it didn’t have the same feathers as the rest, it ate only what they remained for it and it stayed alone far from the others. While they sang, it kept quiet, till at night when it began its own
, the sounds he made, swept through the town, every night, healed the sick and calmed the troubled, everyone wondered what manner of bird made such sound. But no one dared to enter the forest to check.
So it came to past, that one day a wicked king ruled the land, who allowed the loggers to go into the forest and cut down trees for their profits, against the advice of his priests and chiefs he didn’t heed any warnings or advice from the villagers either, instead, he cared about his own pockets, so the loggers began with the finest and strongest of trees, displacing the birds, each one of them, except the yellow bird, which dwelt on the old oak tree, suddenly the tree became inhabited by the other birds, the yellow bird left and moved to another growing shrub. A short while after, the old oak tree was also cut down, and that was when the town went into disarray, the greedy king died, and all the chiefs fell ill, the rivers dried and drought engulfed the land, but the loggers continued, they became an infestation one terrible virus, cutting trees and destroying wildlife.
When the troubles became worse, increasing every day, the people of the land went to meet the oldest priest in the land, asking for his wisdom in consulting the gods, then he clarified to them, the issues affecting the town. Telling them an abomination had been committed and the gods sent to them a protector, who should protect the town, but something went wrong as the town vanguard that lived in the forest had been cut down, it turned out to be the old oak tree, they were simply made to understand that whenever the yellow bird rested on the oak tree, the town would prosper. But there is trouble, because the bird is alone, and the tree is gone.
The citizens of the town enraged after hearing the news, ran to the forest to disrupt the activities of the loggers and mob them, after few days of unrest their boss was captured and asked why he cut the oak tree, in his own words he simply said: “he didn’t know the importance of any trees, he just cut the trees, that birds flocked the most, because if a tree was strong then it would accommodate a lot of birds.” There the first lesson was learnt, “There was indeed great strength in being away from the crowd.”
Now that the damage had been done, the people of town once again sought after the wisdom of the chief priest, their only question, “What could be done, next?” well, the chief priest replied, they would have to find the yellow bird and find it a new home firstly, afterwards grow another oak tree, that way by the time the tree, is grown fully, the yellow bird can be returned.
It was uncommon, that the leaders of the village had allowed their greed to destroy the symbiosis, that was created by the gods. For the town to prosper the yellow bird must sit on the oak tree. That is the mystery of symbiosis.
There is a lesson the elders mentioned in this story, although not obvious it is a lesson nonetheless.
This is brilliant. You can only get better from here.
Greatness Grace