Nature is many things and one of them is harmony: creatures are interacting with one another and with the rest of nature. In a way, they are connected. They cannot afford not to fit in. For us humans, often lacking a sense of harmony, no wonder that being in the nature feels good. It makes us feel connected.
Do we have to go out to the nature in order to experience harmony? The answer is of course no. Do you sometimes get a juicy feeling that it is great to be alive, out of your job, hobby, or being with people? Have you found ways to express yourself in something you are good at? Do you sometimes find yourself thinking: I am in the right place, the right relationship, doing the right thing?
If you do, then you probably found ways to feel connected and in harmony, with your job, with another person, with nature. There is something wild about being just yourself. Doing what you feel is you. Feeling part of something bigger that makes sense. A fitting-in that results in having a sense of identity.
Being in harmony, feeling connected, fitting-in, and having a sense of identity can be viewed as different aspects of the same thing: a wild animal inside us is having a chance to express itself, and is walking freely outside.
But what if it does not happen?
I think that the result of not experiencing the wild animal for longer periods lets loose a different creature, but this time, a real beast: depression. This creature becomes ever powerful with every day it is out, and it uses its power for destruction. Not all depressions happen in this way but this one is rather common. The beast is not in harmony but is isolated. It usually comes with anarchy of thoughts, thus is struggling with lack of identity. It can burst with anger unexpectedly and can be sometimes a real danger to itself and others. It seeks the negative and feeds on it. It frightens everyone away. Depression is a horrific beast indeed.
What is the mechanism that releases the beast? The gate to the beast's cage usually opens by fear. We are afraid to fail, afraid of criticism, afraid of leaving the comfort zone, afraid of the prospect of destroying one thing for the sake of building another, afraid of telling ourselves what we want, afraid of making decisions and taking accountability for their outcomes. We listen to the fear, the gate gradually opens, and it may take us a long time until we realize that the beast had got free.
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The beast or the wild one |
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How to get get rid of it, and how to prevent it from escaping and gaining powers, is a subject for future articles. For the time being it could be helpful to look at it using the little-known and not much scientific Law of One Creature Outside. It simply says that either the wild or the beast must be free at any time. If we lock the wild animal inside, the beast switches on, and is out for a hunt. As long as we let the wild animal express itself, the beast will not disturb.
Watch for new articles to come soon!
