What if we understood civilization as a prism, refracting the white light of our deep and true selves, our primal, mammalian, amphibian, vertebrate, replicating selves, into the many-coloured splendor of our collective norms, habits, and daily affairs?

The prism represents the social construct, the entity which mediates between inner and outer life. The white light represents the light of life, as we contain it. The rainbow of colors is how that light is expressed, is manifest in society, such that we can all function as one (loose) unit.

I quite like the relationship that this metaphor seems to capture. I wonder how accurately this reflects reality.