About a year ago I listened to a podcast with Sebastian Junger author of Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging.
I haven’t read the book, but I found him quite fascinating to listen to as he is a war journalist and has lived such a remarkably different life from myself.
One of the things he spoke about that stuck with me was that a large part of PTSD, suicide and depression that is cropping up in current day war hero’s is due to the individualism of our culture.
Human beings are not a pack animal, relying on each other solely for survival but we are a community animal and we rely on one another for survival, but also to grow and flourish. We see ourselves in each other’s stories, we depend on the support of one another and take responsibility for each other. This is our tribal nature.
On the podcast, Sebastian talked of soldiers returning home from war, after living in a tribal setting where they work to ensure the well being of the group. They rely on each other and take responsibility for each other’s lives, they sleep together, and eat together. When they are thrust out of that tribal environment it makes it extremely difficult to adapt back into our culture. His theory is that this is in large part causing the metal health issues of war veterans.
My son just returned home from a group trip to Australia for 28 days. While I am beyond thrilled to see him and hug him, I can see he feels like a fish out of water. I expect this is because he is exhausted from travelling, but I am inclined to think it’s partly because he is no longer surrounded by his tribe.
We have lost a key part of our nature by encouraging independence and individualism. Understanding that we need community, and a place to belong will help us retrieve a part of ourselves we don’t even realize is missing.
The self awareness classes I’m teaching are built on the premise of building a tribe that supports one another’s journey with the responsibility to help each other grow and flourish. You can join my email list if you want to know when the next classes are opening up.
We don’t have to do this life alone, and in fact it’s not better when we try. It’s not weakness to lean on each other, it’s cultural conditioning and the story we have been told.
Let’s start telling a new story… a story that brings us together.