Tensegrity

[Uncle Sam]

One day I asked don Juan what I thought was a deadly question: How
can you remain unmoved by the horrendous situation of your fellow men,
the Yaqui Indians of Sonora?
I knew that a certain percentage of the Yaqui population suffered
from tuberculosis and that, due to their economic situation, they
couldn’t be cured.

“Yes,” don Juan said, “It’s a very sad thing but, you see, your
situation is also very sad, and if you believe that you are in better
condition than the Yaqui Indians you are mistaken. In general the human
condition is in a horrifying state of chaos. No one is better off than
another. We are all beings that are going to die and, unless we
acknowledge this, there is no remedy for us.”

This is another point of the shaman’s pragmatism: to become aware
that we are beings that are going to die. They say that when we do this,
everything acquires a transcendental order and measure.