A loss of innocence

Tell me again to just look inside

and envision prosperity

so my life will be easier

But I ask you to tell me

how pursuing my own comfort

will change a world of want and suffering

as unimaginable horrors

are visited upon the earth

and on so many people whose only crime

is to be born in places

that are coveted by those in power

by those who will do anything

to consume

and destroy

the wisdom of how to live a life

in peace with each other

honoring earth’s bounty by sharing

grateful for moments

of togetherness,

belonging,

joy,

and beauty

grateful for the chances

to live a simple, meaningful life

walking lovingly and gently upon the earth

*

innocence 1

*

Tell me how we can work together

to banish the windego

that blinds us to other’s suffering

as we mindlessly and heartlessly pursue

our own pleasures at any costs

*

innocence 2

*

Acknowledgement

In gratitude to David for sharing the following information and film and for inspiring this reflection:

https://www.creativespirits.info/resources/movies/our-generation

32 thoughts on “A loss of innocence”

  1. Thank you Carol for your poem and the link to the movie. The trailer is heartbreaking but also inspiring. Despite these thousands of years of oppression, the holders of spirit and keepers of the earth continue to stand and to resist. And it all shows the need for us to turn to our ancestors for wisdom and to heal them when necessary to end these continuing generational crimes against cultures.

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  2. Sadly, I think people feel compelled to escape into that inner world and imagine prosperity as a reaction – even if they don’t realize it – to living inside a culture of domination. So how to imagine (and realize) changing the culture?

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  5. You gave me much to think about. I followed the links and read about windego and also David’s blog. Perhaps what makes it so difficult is our lives are too short to measure progress to a more enlightened society? At least I hope so. Take care good friend. Bob

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    1. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, Bob, and for all of you kindness over the years. Sending my best wishes to you and your wonderful family. I am so glad some of them are closer now. 💜

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    1. Thank you so much for helping me learn a little more about the Northern Territory and the Yolngu people. I am deeply grateful for your affirming response to this post. 💜

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  8. Human progress has come at great cost to indigenous peoples as well as the most vulnerable communities across the so-called developing world, impoverished first by the early colonizers then followed by their multinational and transnational corporations. The consequences of centuries of exploitation and abuse are now playing out in real time.

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    1. Well-said, Ros. The consequences are especially harsh for people who have been marginalized, but they are beginning to upend the lives of many others, too, with floods, droughts, fires, and storms that destroy everything they spent lives building, including their belief that they were safe. It seems to mirror what Indigenous Peoples experienced and still do in many pats of the world.

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  9. An age-old question, Carol, that has begged an answer for thousands of years. We are told that we are responsible for the way we think and feel and that peace resides within us, but how do we pretend that there isn’t willful disregard and shameless cruelty. It seems complicit to sit by while whole communities of people are “legally” cheated, manipulated, and oppressed.

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    1. Ah, Diana, you have such a gift with words. It’s always a delight to hear from you, and I found it fascinating to see your comment. You were just in my thoughts and I intended to visit your blog. There’s so little time given harvest season and the beginning of the semester, but reading your work is always rewarding. Thank you! 💜

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      1. Thanks for the kind comment, Carol. I had difficulty expressing myself adequately as this topic strikes me at my core, and I wish I had a solution other than to speak and act for fairness, love, respect, and a world that gives every child a chance to flourish. I have to remind myselt that though I’m only a drop in the sea, I can add to the volume of voices.

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        1. It is hard to believe that the small things we can do about such overwhelming issues matter at all. But sometimes, perhaps decades later, I hear that something I no longer remember made a difference in someone’s life.

          I remember a professor sharing an insight that has stayed with me about, of all things, writing a research proposal. “You have to make what you write SING.” That is something you do with such skill and eloquence. You bring nature and possibilities alive. I remember how I turned to sci fi and fantasy books when I was dealing with seemingly insoluble problems in my work for state or tribal governments. It helped me shift set ways of seeing the the world and opened up creative new possibilities. That’s what your work does. That’s why I love to read your work. I just wish had more time to do so!

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        2. I have hope too when I see some of our young people speak. Talk about eloquence! And a vision for the future that is so much kinder toward living things on all levels. Thank you for the lovely comment, Carol, and keep Singing! ❤

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    1. Thank you so much for your thoughtful, lovely comments, Charles. I was so sorry to hear about your loss, and after reading a few of the lovely posts on your blog, grateful to learn that new possibilities have opened up for you. Sending my gratitude and best wishes to you. 💜

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