Enough already: from ancient hunts to modern chaos

Back in the Pagan day, the Hunter's Moon was considered the last under which to trap, kill and preserve game in preparation for the long winter months ahead. Indigenous cultures rarely took more than they needed from nature, understanding the sacred bond between their survival and the long-term survival of those creatures upon which they preyed. Nonetheless, a well-stocked cold store of nutritious supplies at this time of year was a welcome insurance policy upon which the health of many tribal cultures depended.

If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you, and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.

(Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Canada)

The sentiments of taking 'enough' are hard to find in the aisles of your average supermarket these days, and the pressure on our time and energy to immediately provide for ourselves and our families as well as hold down a steady job are proving increasingly challenging to our well-being. We consider ourselves ‘time-poor’ and therefore rely heavily on opening hours at the cathedrals of commerce to meet immediate needs.

Since the Industrial Revolution, we have evolved into a new breed of hunter gatherers, largely chasing the elusive quarry of personal finance. In our daily pursuit of wages, consumer bargains, pension plans, lifestyle choices, career paths and relationships, we appear to be engaging with a different, potentially self imposed, type of existential stress from our ancestors. In our insatiable desire for more, how often do we question whether we already live with enough?

The year round strain of modern living may appear superficial compared to the historic anxieties of hunger, cold and disease surrounding the onset of winter, but stress is stress regardless, applying similar human tensions across millennia, the varying levels of which our nervous systems still struggle to differentiate between.

We should rightly champion the many great benefits of the modern era, however modern society has managed to perpetuate the stresses of day to day existence unabated. Let’s not forget that despite our indisputable capacity to provide a sustainable, equitable, poverty free life for everyone on the planet, we still haven’t been able to organise the utopia without bombing the shit out of each other. Warfare, and the suffering it barbarically imposes, still blights our modern landscape with millions of people in 2025 still needlessly facing those sadly enduring winter threats of hunger, cold and disease as a hate inspired consequence.

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

(Dwight D Eisenhower)

Tension isn't necessarily an entirely bad thing of course. We need a certain amount of stress to elicit action. Astrologically, the suggestion of heightened emotional tension during the days surrounding a full moon offers a monthly opportunity to shake things up to improve current circumstances - to push boundaries for bright new tomorrows unburdened by the past if you like. Even if you’re not shaking things up on a conscious level, the likelihood is you’re gonna piss someone off under a full moon consequently sending circumstances down a different path. The more self aware amongst us seek to play these life percentages to our own benefit; the wise play the odds for the benefit of All.

Under this Aries moon, (to which the positive traits of focussed, inspirational leadership are often attributed) inspired affirmative action might be the order of the next fortnight. On a geopolitical level let’s hope so. In the same period those positive Aries traits are likely to be countered by the negative aspects of the star sign: power hungry, obstinate, wilful intransigence. Sadly, those with a holistic, beneficent perspective of planetary well being could find themselves targeted for retribution by those with a darker agenda.

I had that Aries opposition in mind when I initially wrote this piece, fearing the worst for those aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla heading for Gaza planning to deliver much needed food and medical supplies to the displaced, starving Palestinians suffering genocide in their homeland. Saint Greta of Thunberg had recently been sending deeply concerning messages from the deck of her current Freedom Flotilla Coalition¹ (FFC) boat, Alma as Israeli military drones dropped explosive devices on the collection of more than 50 unarmed civilian craft from 45 countries under cover of darkness.

The initial FFC boat set sail for Gaza on 1st June this year with the intention of breaking the 18 year blockade of the Gaza Strip², in response to the famine and humanitarian crisis there. The first vessel, Madleen, left Italian waters in Sicily loaded with baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, medical kits and crutches. Within days it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, attacked with chemical spray, boarded and seized, preventing it from reaching the Gaza coast. Israeli soldiers transported the 12 people onboard, including Thunberg and French MEP Rima Hassan, to detention in Israel from where they were eventually deported.

Undeterred, the FFC amplified their attempts to bring supplies to Gaza while highlighting the ongoing genocide by launching the current, larger aid flotilla under the defiant banner Thousand Madleens to Gaza. Once more with Thunberg and a wider collection of other peace activists and elected political representatives on board, an array of small boats set course for Gaza in mid September and eventually got to within a day’s sail of their target. Overnight on Wednesday 1st October the flotilla was intercepted and attacked with powerful water cannon from approximately 20 Israeli naval craft in international waters, despite having gained the nominal protection of one naval vessel from both Spain and Italy.

Current reports are limited but before phones and communications were destroyed by the military, footage of the flotilla seizure and arrest of those aboard was posted to media outlets. As I write this Thursday morning, a total of 13 boats have been reported intercepted or stopped according to FFC tracking data. Organisers maintain that the remaining ships in the flotilla will continue the voyage undeterred but will no doubt expect the same reception.

The outcome remains perilously uncertain. Global outcry is gaining momentum and the issue remains an international diplomacy flashpoint in waiting. For those of us with a steadfast commitment to non violence the flotilla represents a rare beacon of hope in the campaign to stop the bloodshed of innocent civilians in Gaza. The flotilla may be in the process of being ‘sunk’ but the peaceful intent to highlight the atrocities served against humanity in Gaza endures.

Overnight, there have been spontaneous civil protests on the streets of Italy, with demonstrations in Bari, Bologna, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Pisa and Rome. Italian trade unions have already called for a national general strike in support of Palestine on Friday. Reports are surfacing of dock workers in the major seaport of Genoa refusing to let Israeli boats and supply ships leave port.

Let’s hope that everyone involved is safe and unharmed. May the Flotilla’s valiant efforts spur additional political efforts toward peace, freedom and autonomy for the beleaguered people and land of Palestine.

In these monthly articles, I try not to focus too heavily on negative aspects of world events to help avoid the sense of helplessness often evoked by regular media coverage. It’s not always easy. The trend towards right wing rhetoric and authoritarian rule in many major nations appears to be gaining momentum and shouldn’t be ignored. Trump and his cronies running the US Department of War, seem more intent in stirring division than uniting people in America, resulting in an ensuing ‘chaos’ that arguably permits them to exert greater military control over the populace to maintain ‘order’. However, are we not in danger of rising unhelpfully to the constant flow of their toxic bait by using the same hateful invective? Our negative emotional reaction to their antagonism is exactly what they need to incite divisive chaos. It’s simplistic playground politics but it works.

In many ways the performances of Donald Trump remind me of male chimpanzees and their dominance rituals. In order to impress rivals, males seeking to rise in the dominance hierarchy perform spectacular displays: stamping, slapping the ground, dragging branches, throwing rocks. The more vigorous and imaginative the display, the faster the individual is likely to rise in the hierarchy, and the longer he is likely to maintain that position.

(Jane Goodall, primatologist and conservationist 1934 - 2025 RIP)

I prefer instead to write about those aspects of our lives that remain within our control (our thoughts, words and deeds) to positive effect. This does not mean I’m encouraging a state of denial - far from it. I merely seek to focus attention more specifically onto areas of life where direct involvement can lead to healing rather than harm. In developing an empowered sense of belief in our own capacity to determine a better world in our immediate surroundings through caring behaviour, we very quickly find ourselves actively contributing to a wider benefit for All. It’s an ultimate win/win.

Although we may feel overwhelmed by the building tide of economic demands and social pressures under this Aries moon, the case for devoting precious time to soul matters has never been more important. By concentrating on the stuff we love, that makes our hearts sing and life worth living, we balance our burdens with a soulful antidote to the malaise of stress. We gain internal strength rather than leach precious vitality to external agendas set by others.

Nothing matters more than the Soul. It is the beloved, still small voice beneath the inane busy chatter of the mind and man made world. It is the bedrock of our being, the foundation of our fundamentals. It is the connection we feel to All that is, was and ever will be in the same eternal moment. It is our Divine Self, our existential truth and best mate. It is the relationship on which we can always rely, from which we never separate - even in death - and which we ignore to our detriment.

The Soul gives unconditionally if we are open to receive, and guides should we have ears to listen. It is the same divine spark that animates every human, creature and living form. It is our nature, our unified being, our vulnerability and invincibility in One, and coincidentally, all that truly exists.

It has been called Love by many and I adore the word. In greeting every person that we meet firmly in the knowledge of our irrefutable Soul/Love connection, the man made world becomes a more humane, equitable, respectful and peaceful place in which to dwell. Namaste³…as they say.

So why not seek to change the world for the better under this Hunter's Moon, by pursuing the Soul as our quarry; our prize for the chase into self knowledge? Its lair is not far away. It rests right here, within the earthy burrows of our being, the indwelling essence from which we emerge in flesh and blood. Why not search it out, if not already familiar with its full acquaintance? It will not run. On the contrary. Once located and engaged it will faithfully abide by our side through thick and thin, unshakeable, fearless and comforting where once it appeared mysterious, elusive and untamed.

Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave.

(G.I. Gurdjieff)

The Soul is our heritage, legacy and reward; a birthright and refuge beyond the relentless cycles of birth and death. It is the bounty for which we vainly scour and grope on a daily basis, hungry hunters all, searching forever outward, always in the wrong places.

Alternatively, we can choose to be quiet and still, start the search within, intent on listening for our own loving presence rising from the heart, purring like a lost pet, full of inherent wisdom waiting to be housed and cherished. It is drawn to the lure of our living breath, the call of our aching desire to seek. Love is not illusive, it wants to be caught, to be ours always... until we finally realise we dwell within it, inviolate, inseparate and at peace, no kill ever having been necessary.

This hunt is simple, following a constantly accessible path should you hear the call:

Sit in a quiet space with your back straight and eyes closed.
Concentrate solely on your breath to the exclusion of all thought.
Don't worry when thoughts pop up - it's natural - but with even a minimum of practice (just a few minutes a day) the cluttered thinking eventually calms down and occasionally stops.
There, in the prolonged awareness of the silent space between thoughts, a new inner dialogue begins - that of the Soul.

Don't take my word for it. Relax, take aim, allow who you think you are to dissolve and introduce yourself to what you truly are. It will always be enough.