Exercise the Mind
The Turning Feral Journal - Day 53
If you haven’t already, there is still time to pick up a copy of Turning Feral on Amazon before the holidays. Grab one for you or a family member who is sustainability-curious!
Day 53: Rote memorization was never my thing. In fact I struggled on any test where I had to commit phrases or specific pieces of information to memory. All of the notecards and mnemonic devices I tried would help, but shortly after the exam the factoids would disappear into the ether never to be recalled again. It wasn’t until I started to learn a second language that I realized rote memorization can only take a person so far in acquiring new information, and to truly learn something you need two things, immersion and routine.
How did I find this out? Well, after two years of studying Russian with the ol’ rote memorization method I finally had the chance to live in Russia. Once I landed and was out in the city I found myself trying my best memorized Russian lines on passersby. Imagine my surprise when my questions and statements were greeted by someone replying in a thick accent, “Brother, I speak English… let’s just use that, OK?” My static memorization had failed me and bruised my ego, but I was now immersed and chose to try and speak the language regardless of a local’s resistance.
I then augmented the immersion experience with religious routine. Everyday I would wake up, do some writing in the language, and then leave the house well before I needed to. My goal everyday was to have interactions with people in areas where my language skills lacked. It could be ordering breakfast, buying flowers I was going to throw away, or even trying to talk to a homeless person. What mattered to me was that I was exposing myself to the weakest parts of my skillset in a daily attempt to sharpen a dull tool. Then, after two years of living in Russian-speaking countries, the immersion and routine paid off and I was able to bring myself up to passable levels of conversation.
This approach has stuck with me ten plus years later and is one I feel is applicable to any situation. When you gain an interest in something, like sustainable living for instance, you can start by getting a base understanding through rote learning methodologies, but to really learn you must seek opportunities for immersion and routine.
I was lucky to have an immersion opportunity crop up that allowed me to live out my Turning Feral journey everyday, but you can find shorter term opportunities, too. Ones you could tackle once or twice a year for a week or more at a time – think something like a multi-day guided hunting trip or a wilderness survival seminar. In addition to my self-sustainability immersion, I made it a daily routine to write and reflect on my learnings… This has had a two-fold effect of helping solidify my own understanding, as well as being an outlet to help others navigate similar paths.
So, if you are struggling to find your way on your self-sustainability journey take solace in knowing it’s a long road, and wherever you can upgrade from rote practice to immersion and routine, do it.
Daily Prompt: What opportunities for immersion could you participate in 2024 to help you toward whatever goal you are trying to achieve? Is there a daily routine you could implement to help get you there?:
Motivational Passage:
“We are what we repeatedly do.”
-Aristotle
Rewilding Action: Reading in nature. One thing I have always tried to do is take a book with me when I go into the back country. I am usually selective on the size of the book because I have failed to make the jump to an e-reader, but nothing hits quite like reading a book out in the woods. I think it’s the ability to fully concentrate with no other distractions that make the experience more immersive. I also feel like my retention of information and critical thought increases ten-fold. So if you haven’t tried it, grab a book and head somewhere outside… it could be a garden, the beach, or the deep woods. Turn your phone off and try to sink into the words and note the difference between that and your normal reading spot.