The Animal Side

I have always been a night owl and anyone who has this same trend
running or ever has will tell you that being a night owl has it times
of peace and solitude from the hectic day world but it also has it's
grand moments of extreme boredom. My favorite times of day are just
before sunrise when the world is in a twilight hue that reminds me of
blue roses and late in the evening when most of the world is already
asleep. It seems a bit easier to relax and write at night or, when
the mood suits, watch the only thing of some interest on television,
National Geographic.
I love National Geographic at 3 am with a cup of coffee and a candle.
Of course, the programs I will stop to actually watch all the way
through the infomercials that break up the program are shows about
lost civilizations and of course lions.
Not long ago such an episode about lions was on. It was called "From
Cub to King" and it followed one lion cub from his birth to his final
challenge. A young lion will approach a pride and challenge the
current king. At which time the king has two choices. He can answer
the challenge and fight or he can run away and allow the younger lion
to take his place as king of the pride. And normally this all goes in
2 years cycles. After 2 years of ruling and protecting the pride the
king is likely to step down, wondering off alone into the countryside
for possibly one or two more adventures of his own before he dies.
Don't get any ideas. This lion isn't going anywhere any time soon. It
wasn't the cycle of kingship that got me to thinking. It was the
primal drive of competition, power, and dominance. And in most cases
of animals that pack or herd together you will see this same trend.
Wolves and their alpha male, deer and their buck, lions and their
king, and then of course you have humans…and their….um…exactly what
do we have?
As "civilized" as humans claim to be the animal instincts we had when
we were running around in the jungle are just as prominent today. We
compete for control on just about everything, even our ideas and
written words. First we boast and growl and roar and strut around
like fools and if that does not work, just like animals, we will
fight and inflict various wounds until one or the other submits…or
dies. All of us do it at one time or another, some more than most,
and we cannot help ourselves from doing it. It's in our nature.
Healthy competition is not a bad thing. Even physical competition
isn't always bad. Boxing for instance is a socially acceptable form
of barbarianism. Now one must wonder why we have such a drive to
inflict harm and destroy ourselves when in all of our wisdom we
should be able to find another way.
No one in his or her right mind likes to be dominated, ruled over, or
even taken for granted for that matter. But we tend to be
hypocritical about it. We know that the door swings both ways but we
have the oddest habit of putting our foot up against it when push
comes to shove. We can dish it out all day long and justify it with
the most lame reasons but not very many of us can take it and if we
can we wont take it for very long before we rip the door off the
hinges and gift a primal ass whooping to whoever is on the other
side, which is great for the release of negative social energy but
very bad for intimate relationships. Might be the reason why over
half of the marriages in this country end in divorce and quite a few
people over 21 have 45 past relationships. Our suppressed animal
instincts vent on the closet things to us. Either that or someone has
some serious moral issues.
So how did these parts of our psyche get suppressed anyway?
Well, most people don't have to hunt for food anymore. Wal-Mart is
not the same as game hunting where that instinct to hunt for food can
be played out as nature intended. We don't have to fight to survive
the way we once did. And in that we don't have any outlet for our
animal tendencies so we find other vents for the energy. We don't
have to be physically strong to survive or compete for position in
the world anymore. We just have to find a good line or a con and we
get a quick pass to the top of the food chain. Which is why we have
all these boasters running around claiming their going to "do
something" during a confrontation when in reality there is nothing
they can do but dial 911.
Now just for a moment imagine a world where everyone had to back up
his or her mouth with action. A world where if you say your going to
do something you had better start doing it. Wouldn't that be a site?
I guarantee you their would be a lot less fighting going on because
despite the false bravado if your fixing to get your ass handed to
you, you tend to know it right before it happens. And that is not a
premonition it's realizing the facts of the situation you just
stepped off in.
The lions know this. And when an outsider comes in looking to take
over the pride he calls out in advance. That gives the king the time
to make a choice on what to do. If he thinks for one second that he
can't win the fight he will walk away and the new king will never
even see him. But if he chooses to stand his ground all those grunts
and growls don't add up to crap. It's fighting time and the king will
chase down the challenger and force a physical confrontation just to
prove the point. And that point is: don't open your mouth if you
don't want your ass shoved in it. See why I love lions so much?
The major problem with humans and their animal side is that humans
take on a lot of outside stress that don't always have to do with
them personally. And the more we interact the more stressed we
become. We worry about others who are closer to us, we worry about
money, bills, politics, and all kinds of other man made situations
and ideas that are not natural at all. And the side of us that is
still nature based often gets overwhelmed by all of the artificial
things. Sooner or later we find ourselves drowning in them. And when
it comes to be too much we explode.
This is all just one of the many reasons that communion with nature
and grounding is so important. In communing with nature we enter into
an environment where our animal side can feel more comfortable. It's
the home turf of the spiritual journey where we can loosen up our
ties and let our instincts play on a field that they still know very
well.
And grounding techniques are good ways to take that natural energy
and place it back where it belongs, in nature. More people need to
take the time and find healthier ways to get rid of the excess
animalistic energy that resides in the spirit and subconscious.
Physical activity is also a great way to ground you out. It's one of
the reasons I enjoy martial arts, hiking, and bike riding so much. If
I stay locked up inside for too long I start pacing and getting
really irritated about everything. I know that I can't get rid of the
energy setting on my ass. So out and about I go before I bite
someone. Time away is time to play and that is the key to being happy…
or at least sub homicidal.
There are a lot of folks out there these days that can give you good
advice on balance. But this is something they often don't consider.
Balance of light and dark is not too difficult for an open and ready
mind. Balance of energy in the body is not difficult for those who
know that way and techniques. But balance of instincts and behaviors
that we are taught to deny and suppress is a whole new beast.

Angel Snowden -2006