When people were
primarily hunter/gatherers, without what we now call civilization, our
receptors of senses were very refined. We were much more capable as humans able
to process with an ability to survive the creation of man, reading the wind,
sounds, and smell and what our eyes really saw, missing no details. Today those
receptors have been dulled and even closed by non use of what we were designed
for. I think we retain much of what we have lost, we just are out of practice,
not recognizing the messages. Those signs that were a no brainer at one point
are no longer needed. We don’t have to hunt, those senses are not needed in a
super market.
We have lost our
ability, most of us, to make contact, with the wild creatures. We are lonely
without that contact that’s the reason we have dogs, cats, birds, and other
critters as companions. It is the past calling us to a more natural life, a
using of our senses being called to the fore.
Have you ever
noticed that in high places, on the edge of a rock or pinnacle, or from
climbing a tree, our senses are more alive? Even when hiking up hill, at some
point you feel fresh and at the least you are feeling the wind and can actually
smell the wilderness.
All is not lost. By
practice throughout our lives, even being outside and away from the
civilization that has been our birth place, we revert just like we practice,
obeying the law and practicing domestication without a real thought of why.
Even watching TV is a practice, like being on a computer is a practice . Some
turn up their collective nose at TV, but spend hours on a computer like they
are better than you . When in reality it is the same practice, basically.
Trekking into the
wild is a practice that can lead to a more joyful life, if we step a bit deeper
into what I have been calling the Feral Woodsman life. It takes practice to
ignore those civilized voices yelling at us. Some call civilization a disease,
but in the order of things was a natural progression that soon enslaved us all.
And that took a lot of practice . Civilizations rise and fall, but t always
came back over several thousand years. For an individual to turn from that
practice will take a lot of determination, the practice of returning to be a
hunter/gatherer or a Feral Woodsman is not an easy transition. It begins in
your thoughts and how far you want to take it or how capable you are at the
practice. It all starts in your brain, bring the nuance will bring a glimpse of
how it could be. And for some that is all that is required.
In my research, it
seems a lot of folks are acting it out, Some call it rewilding. For me,
rewilding and the Feral Woodsman are a bit at odds. I am not out to change the
world just my own little world. Civilization can stand as it is. It is a lost
cause to try and change the world to rewild. We need balance to maintain life
in the wild. Rewilding is a practice of small domestic tribes creating another
civilization, to my mind. The Feral Woodsman begins in small doses, for the few
who choose to give it a go trying to be close to the earth. Rewilding I see as
a failed concept throwing in too much the enemy of civilization and you become
like them all over again. Where as the Feral Woodsman accepts certain things
wrought by civilization, and yes, to an advantage, one can distance themselves
with incremental steps, dodging in and out at your own convenience and needs.
If society has a
major collapse, I don’t believe it will go all black at once, but we will
witness a slow decay that will continue for years. Depends on what you
recognize and are willing to put up with. Depending on your age and your career
line, you may stick as long as things seem to be limping along.
Turning your back at
the way you live now is not an easy choice in many cases. We are really
speaking of living free, if they will let you. Simplicity is made simple by
movement. To rationalize ones activity and to justify your life choices, we
hear things like I’m too busy to make time for any outdoors activity. Really?
or is it just busy work checking your email 6 times a day, letting all the
electronic machines control our every move. Born into a prison of technology,
it is hard to escape even if you have a desire to do so. To engineer your own
personal Feral move is a management skill that will take careful planning and skill.
The fantasy of a
Feral Woodsman’s life can lead to a life of security and a depth in richness of
living your life like never before.
Choice is up to the
individual and it is still one we can make. Our choice, our life. By doing deep
search you can find many who are living this life way more than one would think
possible. In past articles we covered the many ways one can approach this life.
It is your life and on your death bed it is too late to say damn I should have
tried it. The Feral Woodsman starts in your thoughts, just the way you think.
That is a huge step but easy to take.
By Dude McLean
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