Superiority

Superiority

"When we let go of believing we are superior, we open ourselves to the experience of lving in the community of Nature."
    ___ Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, "The Druid Animal Oracle"

  In nature there is a pecking order of dominance to which weaker species bow; but the sense of superiority seems to expecially strong in human beings, regardless of any real power we possess. Our culture has told us that our species is superior to all others, that human convenience is at the top of the heap, and that every other inhabitant of the earth must give way to us. This view is not held in traditional cultures such as the Celtic, however; instead, all life forms are seen as fellow participannts in life's dance.

   Superiority separates us both from other species and life forms and from our fellow human beings. To live even one day with an awareness of our interconnected participation in life is a profoundly humbling experience that reconnects us with the community of nature. To experience, say trees without the barrier of human superiority is to meet and interact with wise beings; to greet a child as a living soul, without adult superiority marring our encounter, is to be aware of primal understanding; to stand in a shower of rain and experience every drop as a kindred being is to be washed clean of separation.

   We do not have to walk around feeling mystically merged with everything, devoid of a sense of our own distinct identity, we need only remember that the beauty of life is too precious to be hidden by superior attitudes.

"Practice experiencing the world for a short time without allowing your innate sense of superiority
into the driver's seat."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]