Clumsy Oaf

in her people’s wisdom, The author said, "No Native language has a cognate for “human” as separate from other beings." The NPR interviewer sighed and became excited by the unity of all things and the serenity implied in this foreign paradigm. I’ve read enough philosophy and literature to know we "the civilized" West speak about the conflict of man versus nature, so I wonder how that plays out in the Native American spirit? Unity? What is that? Kum by yah? To honor the soul of the animal you killed for food, be in love with the three sisters, be kindred with the trees, find fellowship with the twisted rocks and clear waters who are your home. How smooth and easy in contrast to the white man’s distinct ability to become a dissonant trumpet, out of tune, crippled, always able to find a way to sour the tune. Every time. Like all the noise we make as we carry “diversity” like a spear because we need our wars and search for a reason to kill that guy who isn’t us, to think stewardship of the Earth's ethereal beauty requires bulldozers and flames. It is who we are. We see beauty, but cannot walk in it with our unentangled, quantum souls; yes, we can take its picture, even paint it to hang on our sterile walls, but only if the colors match the couch. Copyright Vol Lindsey 02/12/2022