How Much History Don’t We Know?

Launched by an article about the ancient (500 BC) Mayan culture’s possibly sudden exodus to the shores of Yucatan, my mind has been caught in the wonder of it all.

From what I recall (I didn’t bookmark the article, dangit), archeologists found an amazing, mile-long staircase up to a mountain-top compound that was never raided, possibly because of the very long trek to get there. The photo is of part of that mountain-top palace, still standing in its wondrous, architectural glory. Household tools were just left lying, as though just used and set down as the people made their getaway.

Though some of Mayan decent live today, no one knows what happened, what made an entire culture leave their palatial homes. Did everyone decide at once that they wanted ocean-front property? Did everyone make it?

It is as intriguing as Atlantis. The history of mankind goes back so much farther than what we today consider our past. Perhaps it is the narrow-mindedness of the American culture that limits us only to the last 2,000 years, though myths and legends are far older, and the wisdom contained in their symbolism far deeper and meaningful.

Will the meek inherit the earth? Perhaps; what’s left of it. If we look at just the last 2,000 years, are we headed down a different path than the Mayans and Atlanteans? We learn history so as not to repeat the same old mistakes, but what if we, as an entire culture, are denied the history that matters, that could help us to better chart our destiny?

Who would deny us our history? The answer is simple: We do. We do because we allow abuse of power, abuse of knowledge and abuse of wisdom. We will remain “meek” until we decide, each and every one of us, that it is all an illusion.

You see, no one can have complete power over another. We can allow ourselves to be controlled, but it will never be a complete control.

This illusion is pounded into our minds in ways we no longer question. The ancient Romans knew that anything would become accepted as truth within a generation or two. They wanted power and control and knew how to get and maintain it. And people let them. The Romans decided that it would be priests that channeled God’s will to the meek masses, and the people let them. Hundreds of generations later, and we are still giving power over us, over our thinking and believing, to those that only worship control and power. It is so entrenched in our minds, this control and power over us, that we no longer are able to even fathom a different way of thinking.

But, did it ever cross your mind to try? Consider this: Our country was founded on many freedoms, one being the freedom of religion. Yes, that meant we could worship our God the way we wanted, but it also meant that we were free to reject any notion of God that didn’t make sense to us.

So, here we are locked into only the last 2,000 years of Christian rule. What can we learn? What do we avoid before we go the way of Maya and Atlantis?

I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that where we might start is with thinking.