I always feel that one of the most under-rated benefits of pursuing spiritual growth is our ability to see through the layers of a seemingly ordinary television program and relate it with life and spirituality in general.
I came across one such documentary from the Smithsonian Channel the other day about a troop of Baboons that live deep in the forests of Zambia. It showcased a fascinating depiction of a complex social hierarchy that had developed amongst the baboons, particularly around the mothers in that troop.
Apparently one of the chief loves of a Baboon is the tender care and nurturing of infants which may sound strangely familiar to readers of Swedenborg’s Conjugial Love.
The infants from birth have a strong bond to their mothers and spend most of the day clinging on to them. They are highly observant of the mother’s character and learn very quickly through imitation and play. They also receive a lot of visitors who take turns interacting with and cradling the infants.
The higher a baboon mother’s social rank, the more the infant receives socialisation from the other baboons.
A high ranking mother frequently receives grooming from visitors and it is during these moments that the infant observes and participates in the social intercourse first-hand. They are exposed to a wide-variety of individuals and get to experiment with what is acceptable and what is not. This results in these infants growing up to be boisterous individuals who are confident, comfortable and cultivated in the social world of the baboons.
The low ranking mother on the other hand is kept on the fringes of that society. Being the target of bullying, she retreats to an isolated and lonesome area, where she has to be highly alert of her surroundings. Consequently, the low ranking infant has to make do with only their distracted mother for company and barely receives visitors to play with. They pick up on the distress and humiliation received by the mother and as a consequence these individual grow up to be meek, socially inept and shunned by rest of the group.
A sad reality where some are born into a world where they receive the grooming, attention and tools to succeed and the others, through no fault of their own, are set up for mediocrity.
I’m sure this pattern of behaviour has its parallels in human society where children from a young age have to cope with their incompatibility, isolation and the indifference meted out to them. They grow up to be individuals who attract very little sympathy.
I also pondered on my own personality which I often egoistically feel to have developed all on my own but the truth is that I, like everyone else, had borrowed traits, quirks and graces from others, especially those who personally invested their time and character on the development on my own when I was younger.
And last but not least, my last takeaway from this documentary, was that I now see it as perfectly normal for the young to be awkward, silly, provocative or disinterested. They are at an age where they subconsciously experiment with these behaviours in the safety of their families, teachers and friends. Our task is to gently engage with them nevertheless and hope to provide them with valuable feedback for the development of their character. The worst we can do is turn our backs on them.
Note: a short clip from the series ‘Tales from Zambia’ can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y3Nx0qyLxI