The poem about the back eighty is completely self explanatory. However, I didn’t realize how complete the back eighty was until I left that world for the external urban world.
I had spent many hours in peace and quietude in the back eighty. I felt as though I was an integral part of the back eighty. I was an integral part of the spirituality of God Himself. Everything was always one with everything else. Furthermore, there never seemed to be anything negative in the back eighty.
There is an obvious interaction with the parent-teacher-preacher complex at some point in everyone’s life. The emphasis placed upon each aspect may vary, but the inevitability is without exception. In my case I had my basic experiences in the agrarian world and the back eighty and then was suddenly ensconced in the urban world for my formal training.
My formal training was quite the opposite of that which I had known in the agrarian/back eighty world. Parameters which did not exist in the agrarian world were now mandatory in the urban world. The most obvious of all was the fact that everything suddenly had to have two sides – a good side and a bad side or a positive and a negative or a right and a wrong – well, the beat went on. I had personally seen nothing of like kind in the back eighty.
And the great world of logic struck full bore.
The basic premise and the required premise was that everything had two sides. Science had a positive and negative terminal for everything. At least on the battery each was labeled. Power – who was in charge and then the enemy at the gates. Politics – a minimum of a two party system or a dictator and dead people. Money – the rich and the poor. Greed – those who took and the those from whom things were being taken. Competition – the one person who came in first and all of the others who simply lost. In church it was heaven and hell – God or the Devil. And the home – the parental decree – my way or the highway or at least being grounded. (I do know a lady who was grounded her entire high school career for smoking while her parents chain smoked downstairs.)
It took me a while before I discovered that for logic to work, one must always have two sides. If there is no duality, then there is no need for logic. Duality was the trick since duality not only permitted but actually required logic and most importantly – choices.
But then that was somewhat obvious. Less obvious was why logic was so important in the first place. The interesting thing about logic, duality, choices, and all of the ramifications thereof was that we are all introduced to it like it was automatically required. Well, yes, it is required although the reason is quite hidden. And the reason is hidden behind a Maginot line of interlacing defense. Since this is presented early in life, we know of nothing else – well, most know of nothing else. The basic reason for all of the logic is control. Say that to your standard urbanite, and the battle is on. But then it is also why the indoctrination begins so early in life. That guarantees that we don’t know enough to fight off the obvious lies. We don’t know that they are lies yet.
The urban world is based solely up on control. There are no resources themselves within the urban environment so control is mandatory to maintain proper input, distribution, storage, assimilation, and excretion. The entire urban population must be within the control parameters, and then it all works. Acts of God such as tornadoes and floods and drought and so forth are controlled within this environment. And the urban population have all agreed to this before the fact. As such, all children or new comers to this environment are instantly trained upon arrival either through moving or birth. While duality is praised beyond all else, the urban population has no particular concept of duality when it comes to their controlled existence. There is simply a mandatory acceptance of this.
It is interesting to note that when I have had discussions with the urban population and tried to relate the agrarian world to them, they haven’t a clue as to what I might be suggesting. There is a duality within the urban world – in fact, just about everything within the urban world is composed of duality and choices. However, the aspects and concepts of the agrarian world are totally foreign to the urban masses. And of course, one could also say that the urban aspects and concepts are totally foreign to the agrarian world. The needs of each are so different that it is no wonder that the differences in philosophy are so blatant.
The urban world is solely based upon control. The agrarian world has little to do with control. The urban world must deal with the relative characteristics of imposed control while the agrarian world must deal with the results of personal best 24/7.
The agrarian world is a world of balance since it is based upon personal best. The urban world is based upon control, and it is impossible to achieve balance through control. Balance is a moving target in this situation so the urban world must constantly be trimming up this or that to keep balance in sight. True balance is still impossible in a controlled environment.
It is a chicken and egg scenario – I don’t know which came first. However, it may be that when a group of people exceeds a certain number, control becomes mandatory. A brief discussion with one individual recently indicated that they had read somewhere that the magic number is 50. It may well be although neither of us has been able to find the reference. It doesn’t matter since there is obviously a given number of people who together trigger the control requirement.
There is one additional criteria. The fifty plus people must be establishing an urban type environment removed from the source material required for survival. This would include food and water and other such requirements like an energy source and communication system. If all are involved in a agrarian effort where personal best still holds sway in producing the immediate needs of those involved, then the fifty or so people may not be the appropriate criteria.
As the population increases in the urban environment, the nature of the problems increases and changes. Furthermore, the demands of the madding crowd increase and change. As exemplified by our current urban environment, the madding crowd becomes more and more dependent upon the urban control mechanisms. The urban world already depends upon the external elements for basic training. However, the madding crowd has also asked that entertainment be supplied so TV and movies and computer games and a thousand other diversions have been incorporated. Eventually, there is nothing of a personal nature which seems to be part of the system in a large manner.
In addition to the activities of daily living, we have our spiritual needs as well. Our spiritual needs probably began before our urban needs. Our spiritual needs are very strong. Furthermore, our urban transgressions can be paid off with money. Our spiritual transgressions can also be paid off with money, but we may ultimately have to go to hell. As such, there is great guilt and fear. Religions have been developed which are extremely complex. And new versions of old religions continue to appear. In all instances, religions become extremely complex. However, bear in mind that such complexity is the logic master’s greatest dream come true. If you believe this or that and can see this or that and – oh well, the picture is clear.
Complexity, duality, choices, control, and so many other things – these were the things which I was taught in the greatest of depth through the parent-teacher-preacher complex. The interesting part of this is that these things did not exist in the back eighty. The logic master’s tried diligently to dissuade me from the simple life and brought in condemnation and all sorts of cruel tactics. My peer group told me to read all kinds of books, but the books were as mired in logic as their logic master authors. Science was equally desperate to demonstrate the complexity, duality, choices, control, and biochemistry 101. Personal best to science was simply a biochemical reaction and equation and most definitely not related to any spirituality.
The agrarian world is extremely brilliant and has to be in this day with computers and GPS systems for harvest and planting and fertilizer. There is an extensive array of seeds and combines start at $100,000. But the farmers also know that once the seed is planted, there is so little they can do. They can’t stop the rain nor the drought nor much of anything else. However, they are fully aware that the seeds are giving personal best from day one and the plants will do exactly the same thing. There is no magic and there is no control – there is an inner spirituality which carries them through year after year after year.
And there are those few from the urban world who are desperate for something more who find their way into the agrarian world and begin to find the simplistic inner solace so missing in their lives. Many times these people have a strong relationship with nature and have their own garden or other vestige of nature. Sometimes they are artists who have had to search within for answers just to expand their artistic abilities. Sometimes they are people with deep spiritual convictions who find that they can not fit their spirituality into duality and choices and fear and guilt. And sometimes they just sort of wonder in and can’t believe how peaceful and quiet the inner being is since they never went there in the first place. Initially, they miss the noise of the city life and then suddenly realize the incredible inner symphony which is around them that has been overshadowed by the cacophony of blaring horns, sirens, and the neighbors who seem to live with you and the game players during the week and then the game players on weekends.
One does have to remember that the logic masters not only lead you somewhere, they also put in as many inhibitors to prevent people from looking behind the curtain and realizing that it is all a Disneyland world. Logic can be as negative as it ever is positive.
My experience has been that the back eighty will never get crowded. So very few will ever see through the logic game and the complexity and the duality and the supposed choices and the control, control, control. I am also aware of the fact that so few actually do want to find simplicity and peace and quietude and the inner spirituality in their lives. Everything they have been taught is contrary to that end. To give up the massive external input is not particularly possible. People will substitute one thing for another, but they will never surrender the basic premise.
And if you don’t believe that, just ask them.