Earlier this week I went to a lecture hosted by the Long Now. The speaker was Wade Davis, most famous for authoring “The Serpent and The Rainbow“. The story of an ethnobotanist (Davis) who discovers a compound in Haiti, that is used to effectively create Zombies. It’s a fun movie although Davis himself is not a fan. Currently an explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society, he keeps busy by making films, travelling back to the places he knows so well, to document these societies.

To set the mood, we were treated to one of the “Long Shorts“. An amazing time lapse film created by Till Credner and hosted at The Sky in Motion.

túrána hott kurdís by hasta la otra méxico! from Till Credner on Vimeo.

His talk last night was titled “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World”. As a student of ecology, it was amazing to listen to him, his language was so precise and he gave an astonishing presentation, seemingly without taking a breath for the duration (>2hrs). He spoke of his travels over the course of the past 30 years. Crisscrossing the globe, with extended stays in some of the most challenging places to live on earth.

The thrust of his talk is as follows.

“We are all descendants from the same people. We are all cut from the same cloth. We are literally all brothers and sisters, no matter color, religion, etc.”

In north american cultures it’s easy to be duped into us vs. them thinking. There is only different. Different choices with different options. Different environments, different needs. It’s a beautiful vision.

Which leads to his second point.

“Ancient cultures and tribes are *not* primitive when compared with modern cultures. Technology is *not* a greater pursuit than enlightenment for example. A Tibetan monk would say we don’t believe you landed on the moon, and you don’t believe that we can attain enlightenment in a single lifetime.”

He also outlined how our so called modern cultures have been spoiling the environment that sustains us. Contrasted with the primitive societies which are part of the ecology of their environment. Living in harmony with the land they occupy.

Also of note, Davis outlines the four noble truths of the Buddah:
1. All life is suffering. “Meaning shit happens.”
2. The cause of suffering is ignorance. “Not stupidity, clinging to the illusion that life is static or predictable.”
3. Ignorance can be overcome.
4. A delineation of a contemplative practice. “With 2500 years of empirical evidence to support it.”

To see what I’m talking about, watch an earlier version of the talk he gave this week, from TED in 2008.

I found his talk and his perspectives very, very inspiring, I hope you do too. Thank you Wade Davis and thank you Long Now.