| Vaccines and attempted mandates are being considered as a societal back to so-called normal cure-all, as simple as fast-food ordering a burger and soda; yet the tables have been turned in the 'land of instant gratification drive-thru destroy the landscape USofA' because mandates attempt to abolish at least a choice of beverage. Ok yeah yeah, you have your choice of which corporation's vaccine but by choosing to not get vaccinated you run the risk of being considered a pariah and literally treated as such. One origin of the word pariah is, “member of a low caste in southern India, shunned as unclean.”[1] How appropriate for these times when both the hands and virtually all news reports are sanitized. As far as the vaccines, various countries have various policies and the US is milder than some. Recently I noticed how divisive the topic of 'to vax or not to vax, that is the question' has become. That people have become SO opinionated and reactionary – when there have been so many other worthy issues for umpteen years – got me to surmise that this is because everyone can relate to an issue that directly affects their health and life, whereas a war in Yemen is just a war in Yemen; air pollution, a reported cause of 8.8 million deaths every year[2], will eventually get taken care of because of net-zero emissions plans which currently include habitat destyroying electric vehicles[3]; and that “At least 78 people were killed in devastating flash floods and landslides that hit the picturesque Brazilian city of Petropolis, turning streets into torrential rivers and sweeping away houses”[4] is simply due to generic “climate change.” In the book Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change by Sherri Mitchell, she mentions with regard to settler colonialism “the virus caused by the illusion”... which reminded me of having heard John Trudell speak of Columbus representing a “virus” that came over to Native lands aka Turtle Island. The illusion, however, became all too real; from a Wikipedia page titled “Native American disease and epidemics” though more accurately, European settler colonial invader disease and epidemics: Numerous infectious diseases were carried to the Americas, including smallpox, bubonic plague, chickenpox, cholera, the common cold, diphtheria, influenza, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, sexually transmitted diseases (with the possible exception of syphilis), typhoid, typhus, tuberculosis (although a form of this infection existed in South America prior to contact), and pertussis.[5]With regard to covid, rather than bandy about with a ping pong match of information – because I have seen studies and statistics 'proving' that both those mostly hospitalized are the un-vaccinated and those mostly hospitalized are the vaccinated – instead I will address the virus itself from a holistic perspective. First of all, the above quotes allude to other than medical layers of a “virus.” Of a possible many, here are a few that came to mind: lack of empathy, violence, war, patriarchal and any system of domination, greed, total disregard for the unseen cosmic energies that are the source of everything from your soul to the little beige-brown cardboard core of the toilet paper roll. From that, I deduce that a virus has some form of consciousness; it hungers for things, as similarly (yet differently) humans and all beings hunger. The vaccines, which may help people and have already hurt people (the latter bit, a fact), are basically a physical solution, if that. So where’s the re-examining of mental, emotional and spiritual levels of healing?... instead of simply drive-thru jab and let's call it a day back to normal. By the way, I am neither anti- nor pro-vax. To truly eradicate or at least minimize the threat of the current virus and variants, I suggest that there be greater and more in-depth examination of, as Buddhists refer to, the causes and conditions. Delving into that is too-lengthy a matter for this little essay, yet to convey the basic process, some brief examples. Lack of hospital beds has been dramatized in the news but there's little talk of building more beds instead of billion$ for weaponry of which the side-effects will cause the need for more people needing hospital beds! The oligarchic-capitalist system itself that has rewarded big pharma with billion$ of dollars for their attempts to thwart the virus and variants. Wait, what was the first time I ever saw the phrase “billions served”? Oh yeah, one of the drive-thru giants, McDonald's, who along with others of their ilk are now known to have been purveyors of the need for more hospital beds. Those are just two examples of a sick system. I'll also suggest that the voices and experiences of the Native Peoples be looked to and respected more, as they could be considered experts for having been dealing with “the virus” for over 500 years. Which reminds that aside from the vaccines, why have long-standing herbal medicine preventatives and remedies been blacklisted? You might as well ask why there are small farms and big pharma. We have yet to see the full side-effects of lockdown in the categories of mental and emotional health: anxiety, fear, sadness, loneliness, insomnia, etc. Spirituality is a personal thing but for many, especially Indigenous Peoples, it is rooted with place and the ability to gather medicinal herbs. And the spiritual dimension of healing is too-often overlooked; as example, you've probably heard of someone who had a medical procedure and was ok for a while yet then the condition or illness recurred, a circumstance that points to a basic principle of holistic healing: One must also heal or make necessary changes in one's attitude, behavior, lifestyle or spiritual purpose in order to fully heal. That can be challenging work. And because every individual is different – something the vast variety of symptoms from covid are attesting to – there are no one size fits all formulas. In the big picture, what are the global lifestyle, behavioral and attitudinal changes that need to happen? Again, too vast a topic for a little essay but some have been mentioned or alluded to above. There are ways to enhance the maximum levels of well-being for the maximum number of people. A tall task indeed, but figuring out how beats the heck out of retreating into joyless isolation or pretending that things are going to pick up where they left off two years ago. So my generic suggestion can be found in the song lyrics of David Bowie, “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange)” whether through your private contemplations or talking with people about the underlying, multi-layered causes of the virus. Going deeper in this manner ought to give clues as to the full spectrum healing process and for maintaining well-being henceforth. NOTES: [1] Online Etymological Dictionary [2] “Data Review: How many people die form air pollution?” https://ourworldindata.org/data-review-air-pollution-deaths [3] ”Mining Lithium at Thacker Pass is a Bright Green Lie” [4] “Torrential rain kills 78 in Brazil tourist town” [5] See here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_disease_and_epidemics Mankh (Walter E. Harris III) is an essayist and resident poet at Axis of Logic. Check out his newest book Moving Through The Empty Gate Forest: inside looking out. In addition to his work as a writer and small press publisher, he travels a holistic mystic pathway staying in touch with Turtle Island. His website is here. © Copyright 2022 by AxisofLogic.com This material is available for republication as long as reprints include verbatim copy of the article in its entirety, respecting its integrity. Reprints must cite the author and Axis of Logic as the original source including a "live link" to the article. Thank you! |