Sharks! (manō) The mere word strikes fear into the hearts of people.  Why? We are taught from a young age to fear them which leads us to misunderstand an absolutely incredible creature of the deep. Yes they can be scary looking but mainly it is because if they want they could easily harm us. They have the capacity to do so in an environment, a terrain – the ocean which is not ours. So we fear them. The shark is an animal we do not have control over so it becomes ok to “destroy.” How often is there a shark attack though? Truly now?

Now instead think how often we trip over and hurt ourselves, or how often a dog bites us. More importantly think how often humans harm other humans on a moment to moment basis. We are the biggest “destroyers,” the biggest “killers.”  Think of everyday how many trees, plants, ecosystems we destroy, the animals we kill for sport or to eat…and yet we fear a shark??? Nature has a right to fear us but we do not have a right to fear “it.”

   We are the only ones that are afraid of ourselves but yet we hold a view of supremacy. Where did this concept come into existence? How can one believe they are superior to another? We are the ones that have no awareness, no consciousness because we are too self involved believing we are above nature. We take it for granted.

   The shark is a creature we cannot control which is really bad in the humans world. “Oh No!” so we fear it. We need to feel above, more important, more intelligent. I could never and will never understand this concept. We make up stories, beliefs, that we are special, different, and we are but so is the ant, the bee, the ocean, the shark.

   We “love” cats and dogs because we can control them, we use them to satisfy our needs, it serves a self gratifying purpose and so they are “humans best friend.” However a seal who lives far in the Antarctica or a polar bear,  is not. A cute cuddly animal who could not harm us is good but a “wild” animal is dangerous and “wild” how scary! A little hypocritical is it not? And why?  Because it is wild, it is real, itself, we cannot have it, own it, or relieve our fear. It is maybe a little natural to feel this way but I believe it is time to own it. We ARE hypocrites! We ARE narcissists! and maybe we should laugh about it. If something is not directly beneficial to us, we have no use for it, or respect. This is why we have created a world of systems so that we can feel safe, we can be controlled. Unless we learn not to fear ourselves and let go of controlling ourselves and who we are we will always feel the need to control others and the world and that will never bring us love or happiness for ourselves or others.

   What is the fear of the wild? The fear of wild is the fear of our true self… we destroy nature which subconsciously we are trying to destroy ourselves, that part of us. We are trying to burry ourselves because we fear it. It is unknown to us. Humans have become the most domesticated creature that exists.

   We try to feel superior while suppressing our natural wild nature, disconnecting us, and as a result we destroy everything around us but more importantly we are destroying ourselves. The joke is on us! We are guiding ourselves away from our core, our being, our happiness. We are in fear of letting go of control, and of love.  Nature…”wild” animals, have a sense of self. To be wild is to be real and not live under false pretense. Humans on the other hand are becoming more and more domesticated. We have unlearned who we truly are, and we act more and more like puppets…conditioned puppets.

   Maybe it is time we return to who we truly are. Maybe this is a beautiful time that we realize freedom…true freedom, to let go of control, selfishness, and illusions and rediscover ourselves. Re-unite with nature which is not separate from us but somehow along the line we forgot this and lost our way, and that is ok!  It does not have to be necessarily a burden or something difficult. Maybe losing our way is a great way that we get to experience. It is providing us with a journey which is the most miraculous part, a task, an adventure, an exciting challenge! The journey to happiness…to loving…to our real nature.

   Maybe it is a gift to get to live the beautiful experience of reconnection, re-being . We get to discover that there is nothing else to fear but ourselves.  Maybe it is a task to see if we can accomplish this. Something that while we do individually at the same time we do it as a whole, together. Because the result of our individual journey back to self will affect all nature, all life.

   You can be who you are meant to be, who you want to be, you can be free. Loving yourself enough to do this, loving other people, without blaming them for they gave you this opportunity. Loving society’s messed-upness, and the wrong systems we have created, and loving the planet for giving you the opportunity and the gift of self-discovery.

  I began writing this as I was feeling bitterness, frustration, and pain after viewing a post.  I went on a rampage. I was expressing how I felt, I went on and on babbling, releasing what I was feeling and from that I came to a conclusion…a profound  understanding. The understanding that even though it is hurtful, painful, upsetting at the same time maybe it is something beautiful. An opportunity to experience something beautiful…an evolution.

   My point Is that if I had held in all those feelings, suppressing my pain , who I am,  I would not have gotten to the point where I am right now. Where I no longer feel frustrated, bitter, sad, but instead I feel calm, “enlightened,” good, relieved, and happy. Otherwise it would have just built up and up and I would have missed the whole point. I discovered something just now, by not holding back. I did not feel good at that moment but I allowed myself to feel it and by doing that I learned something.

   Embrace your true nature. The only darkness in the world is the suppression of that. Also do not be hard on yourself or the world as it is a process that cannot be accomplished rapidly. It is a process that will take time. Piece by piece. We will discover and unravel more and more of the beauty of self and the world. Remember, it is the journey not the result that matters. Experience the sensation of every spoonful of your favorite cake instead of rushing to swallow it down, for then it is over. Enjoy every mouthful, every ingredient. Enjoy life. Each spoonful will taste differently, the more you are there within it, the better it will taste. Set yourself “wild.” That is the way of nature.

   Nature is here to allow you to do just that. To teach you, remind you of who you are, so you can once again be happy. No matter how much you try to fight it, go against it, it will still be there, it will never go away,  because it is within you , it is you…you are wild.