Idaho: Into The Wild

A recent conversation with a man pointed out that people feel good about accomplishment. An individual undertakes great things, or lesser things that are also great, primarily for the reward that comes with the accomplishment of that thing. He then went on to argue that survival for all species is an accomplishment. well, survival and the reproduction. isn't that what species are all about anyway--surviving and ensuring the survival of their species? He was saying that it's only natural that positive, healthy emotions follow such an achievement in order that the species does what it's supposed to--survive and reproduce.

So I had hiked a few miles into the back country of Idaho and was sitting close to the summit of one of the hills commonly called the Rocky Mountains. I was naked. And I was floating in a hot spring, my head on a rock, watching the moon come over the rock face right above me. The big dipper was above on the right, Orion's belt somewhere straight up, and only the silhouettes of different trees and plants were visible in front of the moon. I was out in the middle of no where. As far as my sense could tell no one else was around for miles.

I couldn't help thinking that maybe there was some part of me that was supposed to live like this. Wild and untamed, not unlike those previously prestigious explorers who had passed the same way 200 years earlier. Living like an animal.

Back to the guy and the sense of accomplishment:
He was making the point that he'd like to live in the wild. Each day would be a struggle to survive. Each day would be an accomplishment. He was convinced he would be happy that way. He was convinced more people should think a little more about living life a little bit more like that. If nothing else it might be a bit healthier.

We are animals, I suppose.