Large Fierce Mammal

“Every living thing in Nature, flora or fauna, has a Way that defines its ideal state of being. That balanced equation of form and function forged by generations of evolution against the anvil of environmental reality. This ideal state of being is, for each species, its own unique expression of the greater, all encompassing Way – the Way of the Wild – the Way from which all others spring.

“The Way of the Wild deals with Life, Death, who gets each, and when. For successful organisms, embracing this Way is not a choice, and of all things on the Earth, only one kind flirts with living as though this were not so – Man. For the most part, human society does not embrace Wild in its Natural sense, viewing it instead as representing all that is wanton, dangerous, and out of control. An unpredictably unacceptable condition fit only to be tamed or eradicated for the greater; i. e., human; good. Down that path lies a disconnection wrought by an artificially orchestrated thing called “civilization”, built on a foundation of conflict with the Way of the Wild. This will one day resolve itself, one way or another, and of that resolution only one thing can be said with certainty – the Way of the Wild will prevail, as it always has and always will.” ~ Worldly Wisdom Wednesday – The Way of the Wild

A lot of things can kill you, and some day one of them will. I personally conduct myself as though I and every other of my species is doomed. Now, I know the word “doom” is one of those fraught with dramatic import, so before the more delicate of you throw your aprons up over your faces and run off screaming like Mrs. Dilber when Alistair Sim’s Ebenezer Scrooge stood on his head, here’s a moment of clarity —

“I once convinced a small group of idiots that my birth certificate had an expiry date stamped on it. Don’t try this yourselves though, because my powers of persuasion exceed that of mere mortals, and I’d hate to be responsible for any of you hurting yourselves; at least if I’m not there to watch.

“Good news for everyone reading this – if you’re alive you’re going to get dead. Every life comes with a death, no assembly required.” ~ Dark Sentiments 2013 – Day 13: Whither Thou Goest?

So you see, this isn’t a late breaking realization. It’s been part of the deal since the beginning, and there is nothing that can, or should, be done about it. That Humans die is primarily of concern only to Humans, but that isn’t to say we’re insignificant to Nature. Only that our significance is measured by Her standards — whether or not our effect on the ecosystems in which we live has positive or negative consequences overall.

This is not to say that studies in medicine, hygiene, health, and assorted related disciplines aimed at improving the length and quality of Human life are doing anything wrong within the Human Way of the Wild. All things are, after all, compelled by their Nature to thrive. Where the rubber leaves the road, however, is where Human striving to thrive proceeds absent the obvious caveat that our actions, though they may slay species, divert mighty rivers, and turn forest to wasteland, with all their consequences real and imagined, will end in that kind of doom reported in the news when a car full of revelers careens off a road late one night to incinerate its occupants at the bottom of a ravine — speed and alcohol may have been a factor.

Recent news serves up a hearty helping of lip service to getting that car under control, changing its V8 to an electric motor, and maybe pulling over to check the map, just to confirm whether we’re just doomed or actually fucked, which is really the question.