 John and Friend
John is an Emeritus Professor in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Studies from California State University, Northridge, and a retired Lecturer from Cal Poly. For thirty-four years he has taught classes in Commercial Recreation, Tourism Planning, Management and Leadership, and Wilderness Survival. He earned his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University in Organizational Development and Curriculum Design in Higher Education.
John also served as Lead Evaluator for the SLO Sheriff's Search & Rescue division. He is a current member of the Atascadero Writer's Club and can be contacted by calling 805-440-9529 or by email.
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Refreshing a Life
by John Bullaro, Ph.D
The following thoughts are inspired by, "The Kogi Tribe are Guardians of the Heart of the World," by Bard of Ely.
If a well informed, knowledgeable, and honest group of advisors warned you that the world you enjoy today is dangerously close to ruin because of the habits you and your neighbors practice, would you be inclined to change your ways?
Further, suppose the changes you're asked to make necessitated a radical shift in your life style, like cutting back on energy consumption in your home, driving a high mileage car with reduced horse power, recycling every bit of waste in your home, not using pesticides or herbicides, not purchasing throwaway technology like computers that are "slow," cell phones that just send and receive calls, trendy clothing, or not purchasing items made by polluting companies. Further, these requests were made as a path to survival for you and your family. Could you—or would you—take the challenge and begin to make necessary changes?
Such a group of informed, knowledgeable, and honest group of advisors—with no stake in the game other than survival—does exist. The ancient Kogi people live at 17,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada Marta Mountain in northern Columbia. They have lived in these mountains for thousands of years. They managed to avoid the invading Spaniards 500 years ago by hiding and persevering their life style. They depend entirely on the bounty of their land. Nature is their living partner. Note: crime and murder are non-existent in their society.
Their mountain is a perfect model of every ecosystem around the world—forests, deserts, swamps, and coral reefs on the coast. In 1988, they invited an outside film crew to document their society because they were concerned for people everywhere. The film, "From the Heart of the World," was a warning of the danger signs that their mountain—a model for the world—was in trouble. I showed this film to my students at CSUN in a class on Recreation and the Natural Environment in 1990.
After the film crew left, the Kogi retreated back into isolation and made their home area all but inaccessible to any intruders.
Once again the Kogi have sent a message to us, whom they call "Little "Brothers," that the signs have grown worse, that life on their sacred mountain is dying. They cite one example for their concern: they are unable to find plants they have traditionally used for healing. The trajectory for the survival of life for the Kogi shows the world is headed towards imminent extermination of life. Much of this destruction of living things is tied to global warming and air particulates from industrialization. The plants and animal everywhere are in trouble, not just in Columbia.
Personally I believe the Kogi and other Native Peoples are the best advisors we have for showing us the road to survival, or alert us our current practices are leading to our destruction. Think about it, all they want to achieve is to live a good life. They are not after profits, land, power, or notoriety, just life. Their warnings sound reasonable to me.
For more information, Google "Kogi."
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