Laurens Van Der Post once wrote that the Bushmen of the Kalahari received an inner tapping. I suppose you could also call it an inner voice, and once they heard it, they followed its guidance. He described how he was out in the dessert once with a small group of Bushmen, when one of them suddenly stood up. The man pointed in front of him and announced that people were coming. Laurens, who was taller, also stood up and saw nothing in the horizon. To Laurens’ surprise, an hour or so later a couple of men arrived from where they had been perceived, and joined them.

He described the Bushmen society in very kind and respectful terms. He said they were a happy, content people who were in tune with what can be described as harsh conditions to live in. It’s true that the Bushmen had a less complicated life than we have today, so it’s debatable that it was easier for them to drop everything, if necessary, to follow that inner guidance.

The thing is, today we find ourselves in a global condition, which to me is even harsher than where the Bushmen lived. Physically easier in many respects, through varied inventions, but much more demanding on our psyche. It’s a society in which it’s not only difficult to hear our inner voice, let alone listen and follow its guidance. I find it a great sadness that overall we’ve developed materially at the expense of that inner beauty of being human. Wouldn’t it have been miraculous if we could have married the two together?

R.C.