Tír Raon - Terrain
Walking our unique path beneath the sun
I have contemplated Terrain vs. Germ Theory for some time, admittedly, not as deeply as I was capable of. I allowed myself to accept (from what I can see now) a great many assumptions about life (aka, theories) that have been purported to be absolute fact and, for some, well, many, these theories, er, facts, are unquestionable.
So awhile back I wanted to do my own exploration into these subjects to see what came of it for me. What came of it was an expansion of what the previous years’ exploration into my ancestral heritage had revealed… and a deeper look into the practice of inversion, which seems to weave its way into all aspects of our lives.
Call it wetiko, call it what you will, there is an element of trickery, neigh, outright obstruction of the truth, that purports to be the truth often by masking the complete opposite of what is conveyed upon the surface. However, the usage of these terms, the mindset, and the practices that associate with it serve to draw us more deeply into ignorance as we allow the restriction of our awareness through the acceptance of these inverted terms. Media does a great job at perpetuating this, as do the academically educated (especially in the age of social media - a more widespread phenomenon than just the media alone), despite one’s ‘best intentions’.
This is what I found as I looked more closely at the word “germ”.
What is a germ?
Admittedly, it is difficult to go to the internet for definitions any longer. Objects of society and culture, such as words, have now become quite malleable, and the internet facilitates a very rapid reconfiguration of our mindscape mainly because we give so much attention and credence to it (think about how often you hear in a day, “just Google it” or “I’ll do some research on that”; second comment is a 1st person translation of the first).
So I won’t bother copying and pasting from some online dictionary as 99% of blogs/articles are want to do. I’ll just give it to you straight and trust your intelligence and instincts to kick in.
Germ: A seed of life. The reproductive component (seed) of both males (sperm) and females (ovum). To bring forth new life (human, animal, vegetable) from seed.
Further, to germinate is to bring a seed to life. We use this phrase to indicate that a seed of thought has been brought to life in our minds, that we are in the creation process mentally, as well as the conventional definition of when a seed opens and begins its exponential expansion of its DNA - let’s just say, it’s inheritance - towards ultimately replicating itself (not cloning) as much as 50,000x over, or more, in a single growing season. That’s some powerful creation.
So, when did this word, which otherwise reflects the creative and reproductive capacity of humankind and all of life on Earth, come to refer to an invisible object that spreads disease and that we should be fearful of?
Sit with that for a moment, I implore you.
First, what is the conventional definition of Terrain?
Pasteur is rumored to have whispered on his death bed:
“Bernard was right; the pathogen is nothing, the terrain is everything.”
So what is the terrain, if it is everything?
Apparently, Claude Bernard (mid-19th century scientist and critic of germ theory) often referred to the terrain as our internal environment.
That is a bit obtuse, I recognize that. I also recognize that Terrain is not too well defined, conventionally, but is rather juxtaposed to Germ theory, sort of like Alternative Medicine. In other words, it doesn’t stand on its own particularly well.
We need a better definition that suits the concept, or better articulates the complex of natural phenomena that comprise the concise concept of Terrain. This I will seek to do in future posts so that I can dwell, for now, on what was revealed to me in my own personal search…
Next, I looked at the word Terrain. I’m aware of the Latin root word, terra, referring to Earth, the planet, and the land itself, the soil. But I wanted to go deeper - I looked into the Irish word for ‘terrain’.
Tír raon
Tír is the word for “land” in Irish. It’s found in the classic phrase, Tír na nÓg, “the land of the everliving ones” where Oisin, the son of Fionn, the great champion of the Fianna, had gone to live with his bride in this land (to the West, beneath the waves of the sea) of great abundance where there was no sickness, no malice, no want nor lack in any a man’s heart. But that’s a story for another day.
Raon is to mean “path, route, line, a track”. Here we can combine Tír and raon and we have “a path/route across the land” or “a track in the landscape”.
However, raon is also a compound word, utilizing words, as I understand it, from Old Irish. According to the Irish author, Conor MacDari, there were once more than a dozen words for the sun, in Irish, to cover its many forms and the complex relationship comprised of diverse understanding that the people had with the sun.
Ra - “the sun as an orb in the sky” (some may notice the association with the Egyptian word ra).
On - “the energy of the sun’s rays as they descend upon the Earth; this particular energy connects to one’s ancestral heritage, stored within the blood of one’s being, and activates this inheritance.” It turns on our intrinsic ancestral connection.
Thus, as one walks one’s path across the Earth, in courage, beneath the rays of the sun, one activates one’s ancestral inheritance to actualize and manifest one’s gifts as only one uniquely can.
One’s path - raon - as one walks it across the Earth, is uniquely theirs and theirs alone. No one single person ever walks a path in quite this same way. Thus, what one is entitled to, by their ancestral inheritance, is uniquely theirs to manifest through courageous and honorable action across the face of the Earth, beneath the activating rays of the sun (raon is pronounced something like “RAY-ohn”, with two syllables).
This is not something bequeathed to an individual by a prestigious institution, such as a university degree or diploma. This is not something that one human can bestow upon another. It is between the Earth, the Sun, one’s ancestors, and one’s own unique path, raon, (one’s actions, choices, words, thoughts) as it traces upon this Earth. This is the ultimate sovereign act to claim this for oneself as a human being upon this beautiful Earth.
This is Tír Raon.
Once one accepts this view, then the conventional idea of “Terrain” is perhaps a simplified, certainly less personalized perspective.
Further, to accept this view is also to witness our accountability in the perceived quality of the life one has lived. To resonate with one’s own responsibility in actualizing what one has been given as an inheritance through right action upon the Earth is to embody one’s sovereignty, dare I say, one’s destiny. A courageous act, indeed.
Beautifully put. I love this. Thank you!