Here we go...

 I have so much in my head to write about but to do so will cause confusion, mainly for me, so I need to be measured and write about elements to start with that I can cement in my own, and hopefully your, understanding,

To be an animist, I think, is beyond reasonable grasp because we do not live in a world where we need to be switched 'on' 24/7. To be animistic, or to introduce aspects of animism into our lives is much more realistic and can be achieved in a mindset where we need quick wins to maintain attentiveness.

The above photo is of a cute young North Atlantic Grey Seal, the picture was taken by a friend, but I was swimming next to her when she took it. Swimming in the sea has always been a passion but I am new to the Cornwall coastline and even newer to having my toes tapped by a curious seal when swimming. This seal was 40 to 50 kg but its less curious elders are 100 kg plus; with some far exceeding that. I weigh around 80 kg and to have a similar size mammal, swimming in their own medium and infinitely better swimmers than me can be quite daunting. I am no longer the top predator and am second best, or worse, in this briny world.

Apart from showing you a cute seal picture, the point here is that being second to another mammal in an environment that is not where I am at my most functional starts processes in my brain that can only be described as survival orientated. I become less rational but far more focused in relation to my immediate surroundings and predicament.

So when I said switched 'on' above, I can now clarify that by saying my engagement with my surroundings changed from one of passive involvement to one where it was the only conscious and likely unconscious focus. The mindfulness movement often talk about being in the now, in fact Eckhart Tolle bangs on about it ad nauseam. I have never been more in the now than when there is a lump of a seal swimming alongside me making me look like a complete amateur swimmer; which I clearly am by comparison.

This attentiveness is something we lack in day to day life, perhaps something we lost when our species started to become house dwelling farmers. Security has made us mentally soft as we have detached from nature and the attentiveness required for survival. However, survival is not the essence of animism, it is a measure of our attunement or engagement with the world around us. Animism is more and that is where we move to next.