In ancient times, the people in power were always rotated. They would only be in power for about one calendar year and then they would go back to their old life.
Being a leader was an act of service. It was a job to lead your tribe or your people and guide them and look after their welfare. To make sure everyone was fed and make sure there was progress with the village or town itself.
Like building better roads and better buildings. Buildings were maintained and improved all the time. Living at one with nature and maintaining the ecosystem around them.
There were also strict laws around controlled people who sinned against the tribe. The punishment was always exile. Once someone killed another person or even a sacred animal (because animals and humans are equal and have the same rights to live) then they forfeit their right to live.
It is still up to the leader at the time as to what to do with them. They may have executed in extreme circumstances but mostly they would have exiled them from the village or town.
In these ancient times, it was very dangerous to live outside the protection of the village and so only the very strongest and clever could survive on their own.
If they could prove that they had changed, one year from being ousted then they would be allowed back in. They would have to serve their community for another year to prove their commitment to being a food fellow citizen and abiding by the laws that made the village successful and created a safe and abundant place for everyone who lived there.
Often, when someone was exiled, they would leave gifts of food and building materials at the village gates to prove themselves worthy.
They had to show remorse and a willing to serve others if they wish to be let back into the society. If they could even survive in the dangerous environment outside.
There were many large predators that were always looking for a meal. Anyone on the outside would have to have very acute survival skills and be able to hunt and forage for themselves as well as find water and build fire.
These skills were taught to everyone but not everyone became a survival expert simply because they had the knowledge. And so it is today, we may be taught a lot of things but it does not make us an expert or even mean that we fully understand what we are being taught.
One thing to note is that when we have the knowledge and understanding but do not use it, then that in itself is a crime against the village.
To be a genius but to deny your village your gifts and talents was heresy. To deny this God given skills and talents was to deny God and to deny serving your fellow people at your highest self.
People would be exiled for different periods of time but if they showed love and compassion, it would be shown back to them. The door was always open but there had to be a willingness from the person to show that they had changed.
While there was a leader of the village that changed every year, there were also the elders who had the skills and experience of what they had learnt throughout their lives to share with the village. They would guide and mentor the leader if necessary and when she required it.
The leader was always a woman because the men had other more physical jobs to do like hunting and protecting the village. Women were seen as the givers of life and love.
Their role was to bear children and nurse and educate them in the ways of the village. Everyone was equal, even the leader or elders were not beyond reproach or punishment.
Any punishment was carried out with compassion and understanding that mistakes happen. Understanding that we are effected by events in our lives that may mean we act a certain way that is not helpful.
The first action to any crime committed was understanding and compassion and education. It was only if this didn’t have any effect that more drastic action was taken like exile.
Some boys (especially) needed this in order to grow up and learn to be a man and take responsibility for their life. It was this way of being that made society’s work well in the ancient times.
It is only when these society’s would break down due to greed of power and other resources by the few that everything started to go wrong.
When there was no discipline and a disregard for the laws. When people closed their hearts and instead chose to be jealous and hateful then things would not work.
And it is in this type of society that we now find ourselves. We need to find a way to return to the ancient ways that worked very successfully.
A continual change in leadership, a dedication to serving one another, an understanding of equality amongst all of us living together.
And dedication to maintaining the ecosystem around us so that we may all thrive together today and in the future.
