Going to the Mountain is Going Home

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.
by John Muir

I must agree with Muir on this point. I’ve been there – tired, nerve-shaken, and caught up in the lifestyle that society was pushing for me. Expectations abounded from every direction, and yet I felt disconnected from the modern world. There was a big hole in my life that I couldn’t identify. My family members often joke that I should have been born in another age – hundreds or thousands of years ago. That makes perfect sense to me logically, but in truth, I know that I was born into this world at EXACTLY the right time. I know that my life has purpose, and perhaps that purpose is to help the technology-driven, advertising-influenced, mass-controlled civilization in which I was placed to see life through another perspective – to get back to our roots as a people.
Continue reading Going to the Mountain is Going Home

Nature Deficit Disorder: The Top 10 Reasons To Go Outside

Thats me climbing a vine in Maui.

That's me climbing a vine in Maui.

Most people I meet have Nature Deficit Disorder. That’s just a fancy way of saying they don’t get outdoors much, and are not in-tune with the natural world they live in. Frank Forencich refers to this as likened unto being aliens on our own planet. Erwan Le Corre calls it the zoo human syndrome. I’m sure various governing bodies call it the “epidemic of inactivity.” Call it whatever you want, the truth of the matter is that most people don’t get outside much. If you’re a regular reader here, then you know I’m always recommending that you get outdoors as much as possible. There are many good reasons for this, and it’s a little more thanĀ  just “good ‘ol advice.”
Continue reading Nature Deficit Disorder: The Top 10 Reasons To Go Outside