Self-Reliance

Life in our modern times definitely has its perks. It has its conveniences. It has its own brand of skills sets that acclimate and accommodate us to the trends and technology that give this age its character.

This is, like it or not, the computer age.

Even the phone that I carry. Smart. Checks my email. Calls up the weather. GPS and road maps. Internet. Applications of all sorts that can be downloaded and accessed at the touch of the screen. Camera and video recorder. A portable phone that is a whole lot more than a phone. I have grown accustomed to it. I use it a lot. I hate to say it but I have, in some ways, become dependent upon the smart technology it provides.

Modernity and all its smart technology? I like it and I do not like it … all in the same breath.

I admit it. I am inclined toward being a dinosaur when it comes to all this modern technology but I am forced by the times to keep up the pace though I am, more often than not, out of breath and trotting behind trying to stay in sight of the tail end of the pack that is running wildly ahead.

My preference is for simpler … a lot simpler … a lot less fraught … where life can be enjoyed at a slower pace … where simple self-reliant woodcraft skills trump all the smarts offered in the gadgets and gizmos that govern modern life.

I think this personal preference is one of the things that draws me to folk like Nessmuk, Kephart, and that vast host of woodsy pilgrims and pioneers. Some of them left behind written legacies. Most, though, are unsung heroes whose lives were never chronicled in pictures and on written pages … the forgotten ones … like many of my ancestors being discovered through Shirli’s genealogical research. Those were some courageous souls. Knowing the recorded history of those early Colonial times it is quite easy to surmise the physical challenges they faced and the will they lived with to overcome those challenges.

It is not difficult to show folk basic woodcraft skills … those four areas that cover fire, water, shelter, and food … areas that may indeed utilize some modern materials in our kits … areas though that do not depend upon the technology designed into smart phones and other computerized gadgetry. It takes only a little time, a few days, to walk a group into a wilderness setting where putting these skills to work is a short-term necessity. That experience is a step in the right direction. It is, however, merely a step, especially where the food item is concerned. Staying fed in a long-term situation is a full-time job.

Self-reliance is developed.

I think we are born with it in our nature. I also think our self-reliant nature is something that is discouraged by this modern culture that promotes pack sameness and something that is discouraged and dumbed down early in life. That element in our nature has to be individually rediscovered and positively developed.

Sure the skills can be taught to those willing to invest the time and effort in learning them. But becoming self-reliant is something that is developed over time. Self-reliance involves a skills set. It is, however, more than a set of skills. It is a concrete mindset. It is a developed lifestyle that folk rediscover and grow into. It is something that sets us apart from the rest of the pack.

Skills? I can teach them.

Mindset and lifestyle? No. I cannot teach these.

I can only show them.