Mine!

Why is life such a heart breaking experience? I was reading a book to sweet, dear Huxley about the wind protecting us and the trees absorbing toxins and releasing oxygen for us to breathe and the earth holding us--and it made me want to cry. It made me want to cry because we cut down the trees that we need. That the term "tree hugger" is used as a derogatory disvalidating reference to those who understand the power of nature and our symbiosis with it. And we can't seem to figure out how to work together! Children fight over toys screaming "Mine! Mine!" They fight over balloons, balls, puzzle pieces, star wars figurines. Stupid material possessions that don't help us in the least bit, and yet children as young as two are establishing power dynamics and exhibiting hoarding tendencies. Why? Is it so innately natural? I don't believe that. Perhaps its being printed in the dna over generations of hoarding and fighting, but if kids spent more time in the woods the objects wouldn't be used as much as identifiers. Our identities are so closely bound to what we own in the cities and towns. In the deep woods, the earth is providing for you, and everything has its season, so its impossible to cling so tightly to things. What has happened to us?