[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYJKd0rkKss]YouTube - Alone in the Wilderness[/ame] A fantastic story about an incredible man. A must see. The tales of Dick Proenneke and his adventures in the wild. Go fetch the entire documentary if you like this preview. It's worth it. (It's also on YouTube in full i believe...) Here is part one of six parts of the full documentary (click on it to go to YouTube to view them all): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YvRvLxk6Hk&fmt=18"]YouTube - Alone in the Wilderness part 1 of 6[/ame]
Oh, how I'd love to leave technology behind and live like that! I believe the human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.. In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia. ~Charles A. Lindbergh
The documentary intensified my hunger for going on a trip like that once. Proenneke is a truly amazing man in our times. Not that he is amazing by himself - all people should be able to do what he can do. But that he has preserved such a fine understanding of nature and craftsmanship is astonishing. He lived in that cabin of his for over 30 years, only to return to civilization when he was 82.
Truly...I'll bet the day he returned was the saddest day of his life. I live way out in the country. Go to town once a week for groceries and what-not. Every time I get in town, I just shake my head and wonder how people can live like that. And I actually grew up in a huge city (Dallas, Texas)...I didn't have a problem growing up, but it seems once you get out of the city, you never wanna go back.
Yeah it makes perfect sense that once you've let go - you can grasp the same hold again. When you have seen the essence of life, you cannot be fooled by the illusions of man. Civilization changes according to humans, while nature stays the same. You realize that you can rely on nature but not on man. Therefore we should be governed by nature and not the other way around. While i am fine with living in Denmark and i love technology - i also realize that it is truly worthless. It serves no greater goal. It merely is. While nature serves the ultimate purpose - it keeps everything going.