I’m fascinated by technology. I waited hours in line for the release of the first iPhone and I upgrade every year. I’m a power user of AI and may wear Google glasses one day at the risk of getting harassed. That being said, I also live deeply connected with the natural world on the side of a river in the heart of Montana and regularly venture far beyond.
While I’m required to spend a good bit of my life on the grid, I am most alive while removed from it. Living in the wild brings out the essence of who I am. It is my core. I feel most free, most essentially me when the cord has been cut. When WiFi fades and LTE quits, a massive weight is lifted from my shoulders; a weight I don’t notice most of the time that I surely wasn’t meant to carry. It’s as if I’ve removed a pack from my shoulders full of rocks that others had secretly placed inside as a joke.
The wilderness forces simplicity. It narrows my focus on life’s most basic needs — to eat, drink, and stay alive. In the wild I experience a deep reverence for life, the ecosystem, my truest self, and their interconnectedness. I remember the fact that life begets and sustains life. My exposure to the elements humbles me and sometimes humiliates me. In the presence of vast mountain ranges I feel small and that’s a valued lesson in a world that promotes big dog wins. The majesty of God’s creation inspires me and the crack of thunder, roar of a raging storm or cry of a wild animal awe me. It is in their presence I feel purpose and find answers to questions I didn’t know I was asking. It is in
