Religion

It strikes me that Christianity is very much a religion for farmers, shepherds and fishermen. The lord is my shepherd, fishers of men. Celebrating the harvest home, and the joy of rebirth at Easter as the cold earth reawakens.

But we have been hunter gatherers for far longer than we have been farmers. I wonder what they believed, did they believe in gods, did they have creation myths.

Farmers have to work hard, plough the hard land, make sure that there is seed set aside for the next year. It is a life that favours hard work and prudence.

On the other hand hunter gatherers don't really work hard, it is quite a light life, with times of plenty, and times of scarcity, but one where you need to go with the flow of what nature provides. It is a life that rewards flexibility and an understanding of your environment. Perhaps their understanding of their environment was so close and implicit, that it was like guiding a sailboat before the wind. They did not mediate or complicate their understanding of their environment, they just observed it endlessly, and relied on it for their needs. Who needs a metaphor when you are living in the real thing.