What is a myth? If you ask a Native American, there is a strong likelihood that the answer will be: a story from the time when humans and animals were not yet distinct. This definition strikes me as very profound, because—despite the clouds of ink raised by the Judeo-Christian tradition to obscure it—no situation seems to me more tragic, more offensive to both heart and intelligence, than that of a humanity that coexists with other living species on an Earth whose usufruct they share, yet with which it cannot communicate. One can therefore understand why myths refuse to consider this flaw of creation as original, and instead see in its emergence the inaugural event of the human condition and of its weakness.
# 30
When I had a chat with my fellow animal
Invitations to contemplate these words and play with your thoughts
Keep exploring
- Moreover, I think that the women were called doves by the people of Dodona for the reason that they were Barbarians and because it seemed to them that they uttered voice like birds; but after a time (they say) the dove spoke with human voice, that is when the woman began to speak so that they could …
What captured our attention
What captured me was the last word: “weakness.” Not the animals’ weakness, but ours—the weakness of being unable to communicate with the beings with whom we share the Earth. Could our centuries-long need to prove human superiority be, after all, an attempt to hide our own limitations?
Meike Gleimof our Imagination
