If you are like me, hunting is such a deep and meaningful activity that it is hard to enjoy it if I am experiencing any personal imbalances in my life with such things as navigating personal relationships, fostering my spirituality or trying to find satisfaction in career-related matters. Hunting is not a leisurely activity to me and it is not something that I participate in for amusement or to fill my time with fun. Hunting goes much deeper than that.
As I write this, I am days away from the grandest hunting trip I could have ever imagined for myself. I am on the verge of spending three weeks on Kodiak Island, Alaska. I will be chasing bears, deer, goats and foxes. I will be allowed to shoot six big game animals if I chose to. On one hunting trip. This is just one of the perks of being an Alaskan resident and I aim (pun intended) to take advantage of it, but not just for the potential body count.
This trip will be used by me to celebrate a recently new-found perspective on life and to reset my instinctual spirit of not settling for anything less than I want to accomplish in my life. In essence, hunting renews me and this trip is the perfect medicine at the perfect time for me personally. No other activity can touch and enhance all other areas of my life. Hunting is special and it is so much more than how the outsiders define it. It is not ‘sport hunting’ any more than it is vicious or cruel. It is so much more.
To me, hunting is an ancient calling that my inner self cannot ignore or deny. It is a yearning that is somehow woven into the fibers of what makes up my physical being. It is also the one activity that gives me a unique and powerful connection to what we all call nature. I don’t know how others connect to nature, but I would wager their version of that connection does not require more than hunting demands.
I am thankful that I have a single place to practice and experience safety, wooodsmanship, common sense, physical and mental exercise, shooting skills, field dressing and skinning tasks, land navigation, severe discomfort in the elements and an endless supply of beauty and splendor.
Hunting helps me become a better person and it helps me feel whole. What does hunting do for you?
