My favorite book in 1962 was In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World by Eliot Porter. That title, supported by the book’s amazing photographs, has served as a glorious mantra for many people in many lifetimes. I have always thought that if we were had not been so busy destroying the natural world, we would be more mentally and spiritually healthy–and that means never having a pandemic.

In an era where many people don’t believe in climate change or–if they do–have any idea what they can do about it–I keep coming back to Joseph Campbell’s admonition that, “We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.” So, in many ways, we’re learning that concentrating on the big picture may not be the best way to fix the big picture.

Whether the matter is pseudoscience or spiritual truth, we have been since the 1970s work of Nancy Ann Tappe been hearing about Indigo children, often as near-mentally-ill children who need to be feared, cured, or coddled, and occasionally as the wild ones who will ultimately save the known universe.

“Indios,” writes Alex Myles, “are the rebels of the world; they are the game changers, the curious ones, the philosophers, the truth seekers, the daydreamers, the creators, the unconventional ones, the peacekeepers, the mystical and magical ones, the quirky ones, the warriors, the free spirits, the feisty ones with tender hearts and tough unbreakable spirits.”

Society tends to see such people as “wildness” intruding into the so-called civilized world of conformity. I see such people as our salvation because I identify with and support their focus in every possible way. In simplistic terms, Indigos not only think outside the box, but they also don’t see a box.  I want to ask: “What box, what envelope?”

When it comes to wildness, the current Presidential administration rolled back environmental protections it took years to create. So, we still have a complete lack of understanding about the value of the Earth or of wildness. And we watched it happen. Perhaps the rollbacks will be rolled back. The trouble is, we’re looking at environmental protections as matters of public opinion rather than science.

So, I suggest we must aim higher than the environment to save ourselves and preserve our planet and the universe we know. Instead of focusing on ways to make Indigo children fit in, we need–my opinion–to make sure that they don’t. We need them as they are, as leaders of the massive changes in consciousness that have been predicted.

New kinds of thinking, new ideas, higher goals, and the kind of wildness that sends the comfortable status-quo thinkers running back to their beds where they can hide.

The sky’s not the limit. It’s a starting point.

—Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of “Fate’s Arrows.”  Set in the early 1950s  in the Florida  Panhandle,  this novel features a skilled young lady who fights the  KKK.