I read an article not too long ago that was explaining what a world full of zombies would be like – literally, a Zombie Nation full of brain dead zombies. Not too long after that, I read a short article titled “We Live in a Zoo.” Just today, I read an article explaining us as aliens on our own planet!
These are from three different authors, mind you. Coincidence? I think not. It’s merely an illusion of coincidence. Well, I’ve taken this theme to heart and have come up with my own interpretation of the modern world we live in. Here’s is a glimpse into the zombie nation, the human zoo, and the aliens at home environment…
I think Erwan Le Corre hit’s it on the head when he says,
The “zoo” is a modern, global and growing phenomenon generated by the powerful combination of social conventions, technological environment and commercial pressures. Increasingly disconnected from the natural world and their true nature, zoo humans are suffering physically, mentally and spiritually.
We see this disconnect between the natural world and humanity everyday.
Almost everyone lives an almost completely sedentary life. Most adults would actually struggle to walk a couple of miles. It would be a rarity to find someone that doesn’t feel pain during or after a walk like this – especially the next day. Almost nobody enjoys physical activity – it’s thought of as work instead of play. Being physically active is the exception instead of the norm.
Food is no longer personally grown, gathered, or hunted – it is freely available just a short drive away. The same food is available year round, irregardless of seasons. You can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, as long as you have money you will have a full stomach – likely full of pesticides, fertilizers, other chemicals, and genetically modified nutrients.
Nobody has time to do anything anymore. There isn’t enough time to cook and eat healthy meals, no time to exercise, no time to sleep, and definitely no time for playing and recreation. Vacations are almost non-existent, weekend trips are rare, and daily recreation is usually limited to sitting in front of the TV for hours on end. Oh yeah, and there also isn’t enough time for meditation, prayer, reading, hobbies, or practically anything else that people WANT to be doing. We have drive-thru’s, express lanes, and swipe cards all contributing on our behalf to alleviate our temporal poverty.
Kids play video games and surf the internet for hours on end – after they have sat still for 7 hours in the classroom. The ones who play sports are forced into fulfilling their parents dreams instead of pursuing their own interests. They associate physical activity with work that is brutally difficult. They are bombarded with the message of “it’s a hard world out there, so you better learn no pain, no gain!” School boards are more concerned with raising test scores that PE requirements because the mind is incorrectly thought to be more important than the body.
There is also an extreme disconnect between nature itself. People wear shoes, sunglasses, bug spray, and sunscreen. They would rather have weak feet, weak eyes, and rub poison on their skin than experience nature. Going outside is for tree-huggers, hippies, and other extremists.
Noise is everywhere! Alarm clocks, TV’s, radios, CD players, Ipods, email notifications, cell phones, cars and trucks, airplanes, lawnmowers, cash registers, and barking dogs (please don’t breed dogs that bark all the time!). The media is screaming FEAR, STRESS, and ANXIETY about things that individuals have no control over. In fact, it’s getting harder and harder to find a quiet place anywhere.
Dis-ease is killing millions of people at sky-rocketing rates. Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and osteoarthritis are widespread afflictions even though they are almost completely preventable along with most other health problems. Doctors are more focused on treating the symptoms of disease after it happens, instead of educating their patients about how to prevent dis-ease.
Modern society is getting more and more distant from its natural heritage every day. There are a lot of issues contributing to this, but I think it all hinges on personal responsibility. Few people act responsibly anymore, and most people only care about themselves. That’s the bottom line, and that’s what is leading to the physical, psychological, and spiritual suffering nationwide and worldwide.
Instead of contributing to the problem, I’m going to try and alter my perception of the world around me and double my efforts to question and defy conventional thought and wisdom.
What do you think – does the world feel like it’s filled with zombies, zoo humans, or aliens – or have I completely fallen off my rocker?
To your health and success,
.jpg "John Sifferman")
Fitness Professional
Great Article John. I think everyone needs to disconnect a lot more often and start using their bodies where they were built for. The Outdoors!
I think this comic was made for your blog post – http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1185.html
John, you have an excellent point. However, I disagree with the comment above. People need to START connecting to the world we live in, and disengage from the unnatural zoo we’ve caged ourselves in. I’ve spent the past year and a half in training for an elite military unit. I can say, definitively and without any doubt, that the most enjoyment I got out of ANY training, was a thing we called “Beach Week.” This was merely a week of running, jumping, climbing, crawling, and surviving various physical rigors on the way down to a sandy strip of beach… and then around, about, on top, and under the sand. Many of my would-be teammates quit due to the “extreme” levels of fitness required to continue training. But those of us fit enough to “endure” it had a tremendous sense of peace as the sun faded each day. Human beings are designed to thrive in a feast/famine world. The constant feast the modern 1st world provides is an unnatural situation, and probably leads to many of the unnatural states of healthy and disease Americans are facing today. Thanks for your interesting perspective and continue to keep hands, fingers, and toes away from the Zombies, Zoo-mans, and Aliens.