Wilderness Man No More!

Letting go of things that hold us back help free that space in our lives to be real, new, imaginative, and see life with new vigor. For me it is time, finally, to move beyond the stigma of being known as the local wilderness man, primitive living expert, etc. In the mid 90's for a few years, I lived a mostly primitive lifestyle in the woodlands near the Great Lakes. I did this for many reasons, some seemingly noble, but some because I was also running from my own fears and emotional hurts. The skills I gained from this period are perhaps still good to know...like making a fire by friction methods, or medicine plants, building a shelter, etc. But being known primarily as "the guy who lived in the woods" is not a good thing....especially since this is not who I am today.

Coming to grips with all of this, I decided to rid my life of all the primitive "trappings" I gathered and have held on to for more than 10 years. I put them in a huge pile (except a few items we are selling on ebay for helping with land fund and farmer's market fun money), and gleefully burned them. I think it might be the biggest fire I've burned in 10 years. Ah, the release. The new freedom. I'm no longer wilderness man! Instead, I'm really marching forward with Beth on the Big Good Path.

As we locate items in our lives, we decide if they are useful or meaningful to us. If not, they are getting ebayed, given away, or tossed out....or even burned!