The Bird of Soul | Preface | Homo rehabilis
The souls of dead return to the depth of lush forest.
A soul full of life is exuded from a rotting body, penetrates the earth soils, dwells in trees, blooms being loved by the heavens, and becomes a variety of little seeds that fall on the world over and over. Here is the bird of soul that flies, carrying the remembered past as hundreds of millions of seeds to the future. From the forest to the wilderness, from the fields to the city, from here to there, even across the sea, the birds sow the seeds of soul and draw a miraculous trajectory of the complex connection of life. Then, humans have continued their journeys following whereabouts of the birds of soul.
"Why do human souls return to the forest?"
We who live in the moment and be here to have a dialogue like this, are the monkey-like mammals classified under the species Homo sapiens of the genus Homo in the family Hominidae. It is said to have happened about six million years ago that the ancestor of us was branched from the common one of apes, chimpanzees, bonobos and us. There are various theories about the reasons for differentiation, but it is not clear, but it is speculated that the aridity of the African continent, the depletion of forests, and the expansion of tropical grasslands may have played a role in the background.
Our journey begins when we are forced out of the life up on trees in lush forest and walk fearfully into the grasslands where there are many foreign enemies. As we travel from forest to forest in search of a safe place to live, our bodies transform into strange creatures. While walking on two legs, increasing the capacity of our brains, and adding changes to the structure of our dexterously wriggling fingers, we, as mammals classified in the hominid family, have differentiated into various species, sometimes competing with each other to become extinct repeatedly. So we had many strange journeys through a long time that continues to us of the Hominidae Homo genus.
The resting place of a long journey was always in the forest.
After going beyond the extinct brothers such as Homo habilis and Homo electus and becoming us of the genus Homo sapiens, humans continued to seek forests, continued his journey through the woods. It was only after large-scale plant cultivation began that humans left the forests and moved to the plains, and was not so long ago that the strange error has gained in the relationship between the forest and us.
Since the human rest has been with the forest for millions of years, we wished to remain part of that ever-changing complex of flora and fauna, so continued our journeys, sending the souls of dead to the forest, gathering the seeds of life in the forests.
In a blink of an eye that was sometime in such a long flow of time, we forgot the forest and the figure of the bird of soul. The human soul is still returning to the forest. Destroy the forest where own soul returns, shoot and kill the birds of soul, now is the brief moment when the beasts that forgot the journeys devour their own life and are transforming into something more strange never before.
We, living in the moment and be here to have a dialogue like this, who are mammals classified under the species Homo sapiens of the family Hominidae, for whom the bird of soul is also here in all moments and showing the way to remember the body of journey and return to the depth of forest.
Grow the Sounds
According to one theory, the origin of cultivated plants is said to begin with gourds.
Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria var. gourda) is a cucurbitaceous plant native to the African continent. It is about 12,000 years ago that hominid mammals, which are also said to have originated in Africa, migrated to South America across the sea. Humans cultivated gourds, processed them into containers suitable for carrying around, such as water bottles, and used them for keeping seeds too. With the archaeological fact that gourds from more than 10,000 years ago have been excavated from the remains in South America, it is hypothesized that humans has been able to crossed the sea for the first time through continuing their journeys with the gourd containers of the drinking water and seeds.
While the carefully processed gourd is excellent as a hollow container for liquids and granules, it has also been used as food through fixing a type of gourd with low cucurbitacin, that is bitter and toxic steroids, from the varieties such as bitter gourds. I can easily imagine how it would have been cultivated as a valuable food source for human on their long journey, and that they would have continued their journeys together. And let us not forget another use.
There is a plucked string instrument called Kora that is used in the traditional African music.
A huge round gourd is cut in half and covered with tanned animal skin. This plucked string instrument has a long wooden neck inserted into the body, two grip bars for playing, and 21 strings, and is said to be the ancestor of the Western European lyres and guitars. The gourd arranged as a resonator plays a large part in supporting the fantastic tone of Kora. It is said that the gourd, which has long been loved by people as a vessel that resonates with a pure tone and sensitive touch, is the prototype of the constricted shape peculiar to guitars and ukuleles.
We, mammals classified in the species Homo sapiens of the family Hominidae, learned how to create music and to grow the sounds by cultivating gourds, which were containers and foods. Humans sow seeds and nurture plants, and plants grow flowers and bear fruits to grow the sounds. Music, an accompaniment to the immense journey, a companion of inspiration and comfort, is born in the strange interrelationship of plants and animals, transforming moment by moment and disappearing into the distance of Time. I, a mammal of the species Homo rehabilis in the family Hominidae, sow a gourd seed in the ground while dreaming of the day when I will return to the roots of the mother forest, and am listening to the sounds of the future born from beyond Time quietly.
A Traveling Beast
The fact that we humans are "traveling beasts" is enough speaked by our histories and physical characteristics. Our two legs can travel long distances and dexterous hands can create the tools that make it possible to continue traveling across the sea, it can also slaughter beasts in the mountains and fields, kindle fires, and pick up nuts for journey. Humans have always longed for large tree with deep roots and dreamed of settling down.
The peaceful, sedentary life that humans once dreamed of, now seems to be a matter of course, but the essence of humans as traveling beasts has not changed. The catastrophe happens when we, a specie of strange mammals who have chosen to escape danger and dream of paradise, forget it in our fleeting dreams.
When the fog of the strange illusion as boring daily life lifts and the sense of the body in journey awakens, we begin to question again why we are here and where we were going. In the midst of intense confusion and compassion, when I strongly stomp the ground under my feet, the only thing that wells up is the desire to return home, a deep nostalgia. The end of the journey comes when you return to where you should be. Where do we end up? We, traveling beasts, continue our strange journey today, dreaming of the day we return to the roots of the mother nature, the promised paradise in somewhere.
Humans, who are at heart romantics, seek eternal paradise in somewhere. However, the eternity is a gift that we can touch softly in quiet only among a blink of an eye, and not something that can be grasped in our own hands. All eternity at hand, any magics and paradise within reach, are illusions. The pursuit of paradise in any form is perilous. The mirage of paradise that humans imagine in their minds will betray our hearts at the very end. That's why we need to stare at distant beyond the direction indicated by the thread of life, where the possibilities of the past and future are condensed, and try to imagine ourselves in the truest sense, in fact, we are now secretly about to be discovered.
Homo Rehabilis
Numerous ancient fossils excavated from the depths of the earth that resemble human bones. Awakening the corpses of our brothers, who died out in the process of evolution and are slightly different from us living in moment, scholars have given them various names, organized them, and categorized them. In other words, it was a process of trying to find out who we are rather than trying to find out the origin of the bones. As one of the conclusions, scholars decided to call ourselves "Homo sapiens", and by embracing it for the time being, we have be able to stop thinking in deep about who we really are. All I know is that I don't know. It is the limit of a wise man, as indicated by the philosopher Socrates.
"Homo habilis" is one of the extinct species of the Hominidae and is said to be between the ape man and the primitive man, meaning "handy man", and in Chinese it is written as "能人". What is 能人? The Latin word "habilis", which is sometimes translated as "dexterous", has the meaning of "suitable", and is closely related to a series of words that describe the possibility of things, such as "able" and "ability". And the Japanese Kunyomi reading of Chinese character "能" seems to best express the nuances contained in the word "habilis".
A person who has no omissions, is good skilled, and can use their knowledge in heart sufficiently.
In contrast to the somewhat calm atmosphere of the name given to our now extinct brothers, we, who call ourselves "Homo sapiens" or primates, rarely reflect on it, are what a clumsy, lazy, and inexperienced mammals! Hopefully, we would like to be that "good skilled people" too. Over the course of 2,500 years, how far have our wisdom been able to advance from Socrates' "knowledge of ignorance"? Humans are not primates of all things. We are the youngest child living in the nature of this planet, who came late to many lifes. There are somebodies who could be called the real primates of all things, here are still many things that can be learned if we can have a dialogue with them.
That's why I name myself "Homo rehabilis" first. This is a record of our rehabilitation as humans who are reducing themselves to Nature. And above all, "Rehabilitation" is a path to return to a state suitable for being oneself, and is a word that expresses "restoration" for all things, including the body and mind, and the concrete activities that are guided by them. Attempting to return from an uncertain, passive state to a more active, natural, and appropriate state is the origin in meaning of the word rehabilitation. Therefore we reduce ourselves to every places in earth.
The ancient fossils that we awakened from the depths of the earth, the figures of our extinct brothers, continue to speak to us something even now. Distant beyond the Delphic oracle that drove Socrates, there is a ringing of real meaning of the call. By responding to their voices, making use of our own wisdom, and becoming worthy of living on this earth, we will truly become "wise people" and go beyond being Homo sapiens. In order to do so, I believe that, first and foremost, we need to deeply question who we really are. We are dreaming strange dreams that I am nothing and so be anything. Our journey really begins when we wake up from the dream that can never be dreamed. First, let's go back in time and embark on a journey to wake up from a dream that can never be dreamed.
I am a native Japanese speaker and the original version of this article was written in Japanese. This translation was done by myself and may contain some errors due to lack of well writing skill in English. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the meaning of the texts.
The original Japanese text is published in following page.
https://homorehabilis.blogspot.com/2023/02/homo-rehabilis.html
