I sit in front of a computer all day, and my office doesn’t have any windows. I honestly spend quite a bit of time on the computer, in some form or another – at work, upgrading websites, writing posts, and reading blogs just to name a few – and they all keep me away from what truly brings stress relief and makes me feel complete: being in nature.

I do love being on the computer, and most days I honestly love my job. I love website maintenance and website design. And I will even admit to playing video games and that I love technology.

But I still never feel complete unless I get my outdoor fix. If I go too many days without experiencing nature – in some form or another – I start to go crazy and feel incomplete. Getting outside brings me back to reality, and allows to me refresh and recharge. It is honestly what gets me through the other things in life.

With that in mind, I wonder how those who are completely engulfed in the concrete jungle survive. I can’t even begin to imagine living in a big city, stuck in a cubicle all day, and then driving home through rush hour traffic in order to make it home to my loft smack dab in the middle of New York City. I think I would go insane.

And maybe that is where a lot of us have gone wrong.

In the modern era in which we live, many people never have to experience any kind of nature. They could be raised in the big city, work in the big city, and have everything provided to them without ever having to experience any type of nature whatsoever.

Is that how many of us have gone so astray? Could that be blamed for many of the mental issues that seem to plague today’s society? Could it be the reason for the increasing cases of obesity in today’s youth? And the increase in violent behavior in today’s world?

Now I’m know Rhodes scholar, and I’m being completely candid here, without looking up cold hard facts, but disconnecting ourselves from nature seems to be a very likely cause for the types of things that I mentioned above.

I know how refreshed and at peace I feel after a good day outside. And it just makes me wonder if maybe many of the issues we see in modern society are directly related to the increasing amount of  individuals who lack any sort of relationship with Mother Nature.

I think it’s a no-brainer. But I’m curious what everyone else thinks. Let me hear your opinion in the comments.

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Most of my readers know that I have a young daughter, and many of them have previously read posts in which I alluded to the fact that I plan – in some capacity or another – to have her involved in the outdoors.  My hope is that she enjoys hunting and fishing along with the rest of us, but I would be more than happy if she developed any sort of love of the outdoors – whether it be hiking, cross country skiing, or camping just to name a few.

I’ve thought about this subject many times, and have pondered how I would help to instill a love of the outdoor world within her.  And in the spirit of Kristine’s challenge she posted on the OBS site, I thought I would lay out a few ways I plan to get my daughter into the outdoors.  Of course, these ideas could also apply to getting any child in the outdoors, which is the whole idea behind Kristine’s post in the first place. And without further ado:

1. First, we’ve always included her in any outdoor-related event we’ve been involved in since she was very young.  At only 16 months of age we’ve had her camping multiple times, fishing quite a few times, and just all around hanging out outside as often as we can.  We want being outside, and enjoying nature to be an every day type of thing; we want it to be expected.
2. Second, we plan to provide her with plenty of outdoor-related variety.  As I alluded to in the start of this post, I would love nothing more than to have her involved in hunting and fishing, but more so, I want her to be involved in the outdoors in one way or another.  The only way to truly do that is to provide her with as many outdoor opportunities as possible.  I want her to be exposed to fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, skiing, sledding, and a host of many other outdoor activities early and often.  Having her exposed to a variety of outdoor activities will allow her to have more choices, and increase the likelihood that she will possess some sort of outdoor love far into the future.
3. Third, I plan to have the love of the outdoors to be a non-pressured choice.  I want her to want to be in the outdoors and enjoying nature, rather than forcing her to be an outdoor lover.  I want to show her the many different things the outdoors has to offer, and then let her choose what outdoor-related activity fits her best.  I will not shove the outdoors down her throat, or make her feel pressured to enjoy any particular style of outdoor enjoyment; I will simply show her many different types of outdoor activities, and let her decide which ones she likes best.
4. Fourth, I will always make sure to take time to share the outdoors with her.  All of us have many demands that are put on us every day, and that makes it very easy to make excuses for why we didn’t get outside and spend time with our kids.  Despite those demands, I will always do my best to spend time with her in nature; after all that is the foundation that starts a love of nature that will last a lifetime.
5. And the most important thing you can do to instill a love of nature in young children?  Allow them to be kids – let ‘em make mud pies, chase lightning bugs, play flashlight tag, and have some fun while keeping the video games and television watching to a minimum.  Trust me, they’ll never miss ‘em.

I believe these five points are excellent starting points that will help to instill a love of nature in young children.  And I hope they do their part to instill a love of nature into my daughter.  I hope we enjoy the outdoors together in some capacity, and I hope that the points I listed above help us to do just that.

I want a love of nature to be a natural thing in Abby’s life, and to not be forced.  I think the points I listed above will help in that endeavor, and I look forward to sharing every minute I get with her outside.

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I suppose it started when I was young with fishing trips Up North, and half-hearted deer hunts behind my parent’s house.  In those early days I enjoyed being outside immensely, and I craved it like nothing I had ever felt before.  Any given night during the fall you could find me in the fields near my home, looking for and hoping to catch any sign of a whitetail.  Back then, getting one within range was the farthest thing from my mind – I just wanted to see one; to catch a glimpse of their tan coat glimmering in the evening sun.  At that point in my life, simply spotting a whitetail was a victory.

During this time in my life, you could also find me, along with Jeff, begging our dad to take us fishing.  I craved the feel of a tug on the line, and the sound of a largemouth – with such animal tenacity – breaking the still surface of the water.  It kept me grounded.

And here we are 20 some years later, and I still find myself craving the same things:  the heart-pounding intensity of having a whitetail within bow-range; the feeling of a 8lb steelhead on the end of my fly rod; the crashing sites and sounds of a largemouth breaking the surface in order to consume my Jitterbug; a fall sunrise and sunset; a tom’s piercing gobble; and all the beautiful things that come with being in nature.

I believe all of these experiences, and living this particular style of life, have made me who I am; they have provided me with a positive outlet, and I shudder to think about the person I would have become without them.  Hunting and fishing were the perfect outlet for a teen struggling with self-esteem, what my future might hold, and what I needed to become in order to rite the ship I was on and get it headed in the right direction.

There are some who say that killing animals makes us sadistic and evil killers, and that hunting and fishing cannot possibly be a positive influence in a child’s life.  But I think that all of us need to have a relationship with nature in order to understand who we are, where we’re going, and what we need to do in order to be positive, contributing members of society.

And I’m going to take it one step farther, and say that to truly be at peace with oneself you have to have a connection with the flesh that you consume – or at least an understanding of where the flesh comes from that provides fuel and energy for your body.  I was an active participant in nature from a young age, and it helped to form the person I am today.  But I wasn’t truly aware of my place in this world, or of my ability to be a good person, until I held my hands in the blood of an animal that I had supplied for the table; or ran my hand along the scale-covered body of a fish before gutting it and preparing it for the freezer…..to be consumed later.

Possessing a deep connection to nature makes us humble, provides us with a deep spiritual connection with the land in which we walk, and connects us to our Creator.  Providing flesh, and having contact with it, makes us understand how important life is, and allows those of us who are troubled to find the right direction.

Thankfully, I was consumed by Mother Nature from an early age, and ultimately connected to the blood of the animals I consume.

It helped a young man to find his way – and it still guides me today.

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When I started this blog, it was meant to accomplish two things:  allow some out-of-state family members to keep up on our outdoor activities; and to serve as a journal for my family and I’s outdoor adventures – a means to reflect back on hunting and fishing’s past.

Since then, though, the blog has morphed into something I never imagined it would be.  It has become a platform for me to address outdoor-related news items I deem worthy; and a platform where I can share my opinions and feelings about hunting, fishing, and anything outdoor-related.  It has even, at times, become a means for me to share my political views on certain subjects having to do with the outdoors.

The blog has certainly changed since its early days, and has become something I’m very proud of.  The thing I struggle with lately, though, is that I feel I need to showcase certain newsworthy items, especially pertaining to my home state, but find them quite boring……..or repetitive.  I feel I need to be a source for my fellow outdoorsmen and women, but at the same time I like to keep a balance; I like to keep the blog personal.  I think that is what makes blogs so great.

And that is what this blog is about.  It’s about many things, and I will highlight my feelings on some issues related to Michigan’s outdoor-enriched lifestyle, but most importantly this blog is about me.  I figure all of us get enough news in one day, and I don’t want this blog to become strictly about newsworthy items; it needs to have a personal touch.  I think that makes it more interesting.  And who doesn’t get sick of hearing about the same ole, same ole in the news.  I know I’m more drawn to the personalized blogs, and that is what I hope draws people to this blog as well.

So if I don’t cover a certain highly controversial issue that is happening in the nation or the state,  it’s not because I don’t think it’s important, it’s simply because I didn’t want to.  I get tired of hearing about the same news stories over and over.

And I don’t want that to be the way anyone feels about this blog.

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I consider myself a modest, down-to-earth, upstanding, and fairly intelligent individual.  I have faults, as all of us do, but I try to do well and meet a certain personal standard.  I don’t smoke, although I will have a beer on occasion.  I’ve never done drugs; and, thankfully, I’ve never been pulled over by the police.  I’m a decent husband, a good father, and a proud American.  Yet some people would consider me to be barbaric, sadistic, heartless, thoughtless, uncompassionate, and a cold-blooded killer simply because I fish, and especially because I hunt.

I wonder why that is?

For thousands of years man has killed animals in order to live; to provide meat for their families and clothes for their bodies.  And even today in some cultures, fishing, and especially hunting, is considered a very spiritual event – a rite of passage into adulthood.  It wasn’t that long ago that hunting was a commonly accepted past time in America- where hunters were viewed as heroes, and the animals from successful hunts were paraded through town as a symbol of success.

So why now, in the modern age, are there those who would compare me to a cold-blooded killer?  Because that is definitely a different description of me then I laid out in the opening paragraph.

I think it stems from close-mindedness, and a definite lack of understanding of the human spirit.

My hunting activity stems from a deep primal need to hunt; and hunting rarely involves killing, so that is definitely not my only motivation.  Killing is sometimes a result of my hunting pursuits, as killing is needed in order to keep myself alive, but it is not entirely what motivates me to hunt.  I hunt out of love – love for nature, love for the spiritual connectivity I feel while hunting, and love for the animals I pursue.

If it’s about love, then how do I ultimately kill what I love you may ask?

Killing, first off, is necessary in order for humans to survive.  Something has to die in order for us to eat – whether it be a living, walking animal or a living plant; it still needs to be killed in order for we humans to sustain life.

And because of my deep love of nature, and especially my love of the animals within it, I know there has to be balance in order for the animals I love to flourish and provide food for my and my family’s stomachs. What better way to provide such balance then by swiftly and efficiently placing an arrow or a projectile in the vitals of an unsuspecting animal; the consequences which benefit me and my quarry in multiple ways.  By killing my chosen quarry I provide a natural balance, so that there is less chance of an animal starving to death due to overpopulation, while at the same time providing healthy protein for my body – a win-win situation, and a true example of cause and effect.

I also hunt and kill, as I said at the start of this post, and despite the claims from others to the contrary, because I truly think it makes me a better person; I think it fits my personality, and makes me the level-headed and genuine person I am.  It keeps me grounded, self-aware, and connected to the circle of life.

And most importantly, I hunt because I think it connects me to my Creator.  For those who have never killed before, I can see that this would be hard to understand.  But I feel that taking a life, which helps to sustain my own, ultimately connects me to my mortality, and the reality that I will one day perish as well.  Standing on the ground that my body will one day become part of again, while appreciating the animal that has given its life in order for me to sustain my mine, is nothing short of a religious experience – and a humbling experience too I might add.

Looking from the outside, I can somewhat understand the labels that the hunters of the modern era are tagged with.  But, ultimately, these labels are completely the opposite of what true hunters are.  We are well-disciplined conservationists.  We are nature lovers.  We are husbands.  We are fathers.  We are level-headed and clear thinkers.  We are compassionate human beings.  We are intelligent and intellectual.  We are spiritual and God-loving.

We are animal lovers.

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