Look up before you die...
The Turning Feral Journal - Day 27
Day 27 - I had a great conversation last night with a friend all about the philosophical underpinnings of hunting and conservation. We went around the horn on a bunch of different topics, but the one that stuck with me was the idea and pursuit of feeling small. It was punctuated for me when I woke up at 3:30 am this morning to head into Boise to pick my parents up from the airport and caught myself pulling over and staring into the abyss of space above me. It was a clear, dark, night on backroads miles from the molestation of human-created light… and it engulfed me. It felt like I was looking out into a pool and if it weren’t for the crick in my neck I would have started to wobble at the onset of vertigo.
That moment in nature, one that as an outdoorsman in the Mountain West I get to experience with frequency, recalibrated my perspective. It helped bring into focus all of the things that bring me worry day-to-day… unemployment, being a good dad, being a strong leader, etc… and it utterly eviscerated my anxiety. That view gave me a feeling as if I could jump off the earth and just start swimming around in infinity and disappear forever.
I felt small.
That feeling of being just a small portion of this greater organism is a superpower we often lose sight of in our day-to-day lives. The good news is that all you have to do is open your eyes to what’s around you to feel that enormity. My preference is to feel small in nature, but you can also gain this feeling through observing man-made features, too. In a big town? Look up at those sky scrapers and realize your size in comparison. When you do that, the weight and gravity of your problems will feel small, and as Metallica says in their song ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls:’
"Take a look to the sky just before you die... it's the last time you will..."
Daily Prompt: When was the last time you felt small? Are you ignoring the great vastness that surrounds you everyday? Take some time to recognize those things and write what you feel, here:
Motivational Passage:
“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”
–John Lennon
Rewilding Action: GPS devices are a lifesaver, literally. Ever since moving off grid, my wife and I always carry a Garmin device and it has saved our bacon more than once! Purchasing one is no small investment and the monthly subscription is nothing short of robbery… but, until more players come into the market, it’s really one of the only options available. If you plan to be in the backcountry, or anywhere with spotty cell service, it’s a necessity.