First Path - Direction

The First Path refers to a lifestyle and belief system of native tribes, indigenous people and wise sages from ancient times. For these people, walking the First Path was a way of life that linked them to the natural world they lived in. By maintaining a connection to the natural order of things, it was possible to tap into the universal energy and live peacefully and in harmony with everything in creation. I know that may sound a bit exaggerated. Words are not really helpful when explaining this stuff. It seems hardly possible that human beings could live like that anyway, human beings being human beings.
But, is it such an unrealistic goal to strive towards? What were the drawbacks of living a daily routine that was life-affirming and positive? They took what they needed from the Earth and gave back to it in return. They were an integral part of the world they lived in, not lords of all creation. They supported and cared for the world and the world supported and cared for them. By living and working in conscious, responsible and wise ways they existed in harmony with their environment.
We have lost this. In modern times we have severed our connection to the natural world. We have become dependent on technology that we believed would make life easier, happier and more fulfilling. And, while life may indeed have become easier, happiness and fulfillment have proved elusive. Instead of seeing ourselves as integral parts of the natural world – indeed of the universe – we revel in accumulating stuff and lording it over whatever we can subject to our domination. It also seems like the more stuff we have, the more we need, until we become no more than the accumulation of all our stuff. We drive cars that burn our natural resources which we destroy the planet to gather. We watch so much television that we are lucky most of us aren’t brain dead. We use poisonous fertilizers to keep our lawns green, and eat chemically or genetically altered food. We take pills for every problem this lifestyle has created and then take more pills for the problems that the first pills create.
Where does this insanity lead?