Get lost (why I intend to)
I've been thinking about why it is that throughout my life I've had this desire to go into the wilds and have adventures, and have come to the conclusion that its some sort of primal urge within me, and that I need to do it for the urge to be satisfied. Has anyone ever heard of the concept of flow? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) The idea is one of being fully involved in what youre doing, feeling challenged (but still succeeding) and being energised and motivated. Its what some people think we should aim for in life. This relates really closely to what all of us feel about getting out into nature and doing bushcraft. Bushcraft allows you to be fully immersed in what youre doing, achieve success at your own level, and feel fully involved in life in a way that cant be matched sat at home. Could there be a more inherently involving thing than gathering wild food and being a part of nature?
From here Im going to go out on my own and say that I think that what I and many other people lack in life is a sense of purpose. Christopher McCandless http://www.amazon.co.uk/Into-Wild-Jon-Krakauer/dp/0330351699 wrote the same thing in the margins of a book he was reading just before died. People doing rubbish jobs dont have a sense that they are doing something that matters. People in society are often marginalised by their socio-economic status and made to feel that they dont matter. Being in nature provides an alternative. By being a part of nature you gain a sense of belonging and the purpose of being part of something bigger than yourself. Widespread frustrations that people have with modern society, like a lack of community and materialism, show that few of us wholly identify with our way of life. There's such a bewildering array of aspects to society that we can, and do, spend a lifetime trying to understand them all, but the real issue is with us. People first need the basics of survival: food, water, clothing and shelter. Then they feel the need for a sense of security and close relationships. Many of us have all of these in some measure. All of us have the most basic. The step after this is a big one.
A man called Maslow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs talked about this. He said people need self-fulfilment; to become everything that they are capable of becoming. The idea is that once you have your food, water, clothing, shelter, a sense of security and a loving family and friends, all of your essential needs are met. You become like a car that's been serviced, fuelled, cleaned, and even polished. Where does it go? When people don't have a purpose they try to go backwards and chase things they already have to look for satisfaction. Get more money, some new stuff, even a new relationship, and you get the high we are all programmed to feel when we do something that meets our basic needs. The effect is clearly temporary, and life can become about chasing away a sense of disquiet with these temporary highs.
Certain people in the west take the basic needs for granted because they've never had to fear being without them. This where bushcraft comes back in. In a unique way, making things from natural materials allows us to express ourselves in what we make and gain a sense of purpose from feeling a part of nature. My own answer to finding purpose or flow is to go and have an adventure this summer. Im going to buy a sailing dinghy, somewhere. Im going to sail it, somewhere. Im going to do bushcraft. Maybe Ill sail in Scandinavia and do bushcraft in Lapland. Or the Scottish highlands. Ill be gone all summer and if it's as good as I hope I may not be back. I'll send you a postcard!
