Oakenwise
10-09-2012, 08:11 PM
This is a rather personal post that I've been wanting to write for a long time. Now I finally have the energy to do so.
For me, Bushcraft isn't just 'camping out and having fun in the wilderness.' It's the culmination of the many thousands of years our ancestors had to hone their skills and make a living in whatever environment they found themselves. But that's just the survival aspect of Bushcraft. I think that Bushcraft's most important role is to enable those who feel a powerful connection with nature to live off the land and see it for all it's worth. To use it to honour one's ancestors is a noble cause, and that's one I strive to achieve.
I'm of the belief that Bushcraft is just a stepping stone. It's a modern phrase that, for most people, sums up the extensive knowledge needed to live safely and comfortably in the outdoors. But for me it is much more than that.
I feel like I need to return to the earth. I feel in my bones that I should have been born in the time of my distant forefathers. I have been my entire life indulging in technology and I have never felt so ruined. And now I have finally realised the error of my ways. No longer will I stare blankly at the artificial conjurations of the mechanical world, but ride forth into the clear air of my natural surroundings. My homeland.
Now I have been gripped. I am constantly researching things that could be considered, in extremes, otherworldly to the common man. Ancient history, tradition, myth and lore, all of these things I have passion for which I cannot possibly describe in words.
Every day, even more so in this new era, I feel restless. I need to do something. I need to make proud my ancestors so that in time I will return to the earth and find myself in absolute solitude, living beneath the mighty green canopy of the forest.
I dream not of things to come, but of things gone by - of running with the wolves or visiting a sacred grove of the ancients. I am the past.
I wrote this a fairly long time ago. I just had to write it, to get off my chest the feeling of utter anguish that I've spent my entire life in doors as a hermit, a shut-in.
Now I have something to which I can attach this immense passion for the natural world, and that is "Bushcraft."
So, how essential is Nature in your life?
For me, Bushcraft isn't just 'camping out and having fun in the wilderness.' It's the culmination of the many thousands of years our ancestors had to hone their skills and make a living in whatever environment they found themselves. But that's just the survival aspect of Bushcraft. I think that Bushcraft's most important role is to enable those who feel a powerful connection with nature to live off the land and see it for all it's worth. To use it to honour one's ancestors is a noble cause, and that's one I strive to achieve.
I'm of the belief that Bushcraft is just a stepping stone. It's a modern phrase that, for most people, sums up the extensive knowledge needed to live safely and comfortably in the outdoors. But for me it is much more than that.
I feel like I need to return to the earth. I feel in my bones that I should have been born in the time of my distant forefathers. I have been my entire life indulging in technology and I have never felt so ruined. And now I have finally realised the error of my ways. No longer will I stare blankly at the artificial conjurations of the mechanical world, but ride forth into the clear air of my natural surroundings. My homeland.
Now I have been gripped. I am constantly researching things that could be considered, in extremes, otherworldly to the common man. Ancient history, tradition, myth and lore, all of these things I have passion for which I cannot possibly describe in words.
Every day, even more so in this new era, I feel restless. I need to do something. I need to make proud my ancestors so that in time I will return to the earth and find myself in absolute solitude, living beneath the mighty green canopy of the forest.
I dream not of things to come, but of things gone by - of running with the wolves or visiting a sacred grove of the ancients. I am the past.
I wrote this a fairly long time ago. I just had to write it, to get off my chest the feeling of utter anguish that I've spent my entire life in doors as a hermit, a shut-in.
Now I have something to which I can attach this immense passion for the natural world, and that is "Bushcraft."
So, how essential is Nature in your life?