Few artists tapped into the realm of fantasy, mysticism, and myth as well as the recently deceased Robert Hunter. Hunter had a most clever and effective way of telling about the seriousness of life’s inevitabilities and difficulties in an objectively realistic way without falling into fatality, and balancing dire circumstances the sense of purpose and hope. The timeless themes of challenge and endurance have contemporary relevance today as we deal with the flak associated with making sense of the modern world. Worldwide hardship, struggle, and dysfunction in is going viral in spite of generations of societal leaders promoting scientific breakthroughs and applications seemingly meant to enhance and improve the quality of life. The result??? This quote from the Hunter/Hart classic Fire On The Mountain, “If mercy’s in business I wish it for you / More than just ashes when you dreams come true.” says it. Look around! There is a shit ton of hardship side effect to these, so called, promises all over the place. From disease to distraction, from addiction to ambivalence, from dogmatic draconian cruelty to perpetual hyper violent war; there’s a nonstop assault on collective wellness, unity, liberty, sovereignty, and fate. We’d be lucky if it were only ashes we were getting at this point. The unfolding collective nightmare is picking up speed. There is multi-form illness all over the place, and the serious suffering associated with it. There’s a lot of room for change for the better now. Man made science reliance is a world class jinx. As a collective we are basically sound asleep, and ordered to stay that way. Much more (or any) dedication to man’s techno science fix of health or planetary problems, and we’re doomed. Wake up and smell the smoke. Hunter called it, “Fire! Fire on the mountain.”
The indicators are so glaring, Life is not meant to be misery; we’re choosing it. There is a dastardly persuasion which suggests that conventional material objectives are viable, sustainable, and right. It’s a sick, deep, cowardly lie. The influencing agencies are mighty potent, however, and the inherent mass denial has the current planet paradigm on the verge of collapse. Check that, it’s collapsing. Life is to be enjoyed; freely, bountifully, fairly, responsibly, and wholly. Any interruption to this is an indicative prompt to reconsider our basic commitments and beliefs. The conditions of suffering about us now is our responsibility. The tacit consent, we as a collective, provided to the ruling class of sociopathic lunatics that have chosen anti-life darkness, and are being animated by it, is our in mass mistake. Thanks to the fact that the modern world is built on twisted history and genocide, we’ve lost contact with our organic host, and those that help us access it. The natural host that we’re spawned from, that nurtures, provides, protects, and includes us has been demonized and rejected. We’re told we can’t trust nature while we’re fed another poison by the agents that REALLY can’t be trusted. This whole life choice paradigm is upside down. We’re killing ourselves in a type of disconnected egomania. It’s blindness. It’s selfishness. It’s shortsightedness. It’s delusion. It’s manufactured, promoted, and it’s dark. “One way or another / One way or another /One way or another / this darkness got to give.” – Robert Hunter.
There is so much suffering in our world today. Disease, hunger, confusion, superficiality, incoherence, surveillance, toxicity, discordance, disunion, hyper fear, deception, violation, greed, vampirism, ultra violence, WAR!! To not be aware of the rampant runaway cases of these phenomena is to be preoccupied, dull, disconnected, and asleep. “There are things you can replace/ And others you cannot/ The time has come to weigh those things/ This place is getting hot” -Robert Hunter. The eerie essence of the current crises sneaks through mass media unannounced. Bewildered and lost to critical loss phenomena damns us to ruin in a form of enhanced social science controlled blindness. Eugenics is the plan. In this the forced, industrially sponsored, suffering of people, animal, and plant goes on unabated in increasing rate rapidity. The cross hairs have leveled on us all. The forced departure from the host, nature, now resides as a perilous pride insistence among us humans who have driven basic survival past the breaking point. Over and over and over we go to the industrial tune of consumption, little realizing that all the resources for life are exhausted and destroyed. Destroyed mercilessly! “Going to leave this broke-down palace. On my hands and my knees I will roll roll roll.”- Robert Hunter. So where’s the hope!? “Gonna plant a weeping willow / On the banks green edge it will grow grow grow’ – Robert Hunter. There are truths, suppressed, hidden truths, which hold gems of authenticity, justice, freedom, and liberation in suspension. They are realizable upon awakening; an awakening potentially prompted by these various elements of demise. Majesty will move inside the sentient being of liberty promise. The minds eye can clear, thus prompting vigorous grow cycles of heightening free thought. It becomes original, and salvation is at hand. “Look out of any window, any morning, any evening, any day. Maybe you’ll find direction around some corner where it’s been waiting to meet you.” -Robert Hunter.
As a deluded populace we have just about finished off a very real planetary murder suicide. “Tell me what you done it for / No I won’t tell you a thing.” – Robert Hunter. The controlled historical human history narrative has landed sure suffering suicide/homicide on an industrial level. Omnicide! The me first, creature comfort, pleasure quest, man rules as god lie has severed the chord of healthy perspective and sanity. Collective pride is massively interrupting desperate chimes of reason, as current paradigm insistence is forcing us all into a headlong acceleration into doing things ‘our’ way. The insistence on a man made reality which is promoted to be dominantly superior to nature. In the blinding process we take one industrial death slash after another thinking that it’s our God given right to do whatever, whenever, however we please. Any challenge to this is met with rejection, defiance, obstinacy, and out right attack. “Drowned in your laughter and dead to the core.” -Robert Hunter. Now while some hear the signals of sanity stranding through orchestrated suppression and deception, it becomes clear that a very antithetical alternative is, and always has been, available for the choosing. “Take up your china doll / it’s only fractured- just a little nervous / from the fall.” – Robert Hunter.
The essential mystical spirit is in full view (with open tree thought clarity) and unseen. “Ripple in still water / When there is no pebble tossed / Nor wind to blow.” – Robert Hunter. “Wake up to find out / that you are the eyes of the World” -Robert Hunter. We people are the antidote to generations of systemically enforced crap hygiene. Accessing the healing, antidote, aspects of ourselves is going to require admission, acknowledgment, and repair. It’s happening and Hunter has an effective prayer, “Let my inspiration flow, in token rhymes suggesting rhythm.” -Robert Hunter. The programed light in which we view our narration and limited material objectives pigeon holes perspective. There is an encouragement to bask in new light,”till things we’ve never seen / will seem familiar.”-Robert Hunter. The eternal order supports, arranges, and bursts with bliss. The material insistence of resource exploitation and pleasure comfort demand deprives bliss. “Inspiration, move me brightly/ light the song with sense and color/ hold away despair” -Robert Hunter. The fates of the moment are subject to wickedly handicapped spirit capacities among most from one to another, however, salvation is as eternal as destruction, and direction to freedom does exist, “…there hangs a bell / It can ring, turn night to day / And ring like fire when you loose your way.” -Robert Hunter.
It feels like I could go on and on about this guy. Suffice it to say that his artistic contribution is meaningful in valuable ways, and like his muse, collaborator, also deceased fellow traveler, his spirit, mystic, folk art power grows in spite of his realized mortality. In a world of aching struggle, there are sure blessings of liberation, hope, charity, insight, culture, and art; high among them is of Hunter. “God save the child that rings that bell” – Robert Hunter. God speed fair troubadour…