I've recently fallen for mother nature in a way that some might think cruel. I have an obsession with thick wooded areas that smell of fresh earth, where you can hear squirrels clicking up trees, and birds singing in the treetops, and my dogs can sniff out rabbits or deer. My obsession isn't mother nature alone, it's the time spent in the woods with a chainsaw and ax and a clear mind. As soon as I was able to lift a splitting maul after open heart surgery I began my own "cardiac rehab". There is just something primal about doing back breaking work; sweat pouring from your eyebrows, and gasping for that breath of crisp just-split-wood-scented air. Honestly, I am lost as to why it's so nostalgic, maybe because trees have been used for fires since fire was invented, and fire has led us to technology. I'm not sure. This way or that, splitting a chunk of tree trunk by ax can be absolutely humbling at its best, dangerous at its worst, and self rewarding in between, making it the ultimate task for a man. I feel that for one to be "man" one must first learn humility. I'm not saying that great leaders who never took a fall didn't lead, I'm saying that great men who don't fall find it harder to stand.
Spending time in the woods conversing with one's self should be a requirement for every living soul. The tranquility brought on by fresh air is unparalleled by any man made prescription, or any "downward dog" yoga pose. As much as a man needs the economy to be stable, our country to be strong, the workforce to be employed, we need to maintain the earth we live on. Thick vegetation that has been around long before us, primal man forged through it and utilized it. In the months leading to the birth of my first child I have become attached to the outdoors more so than at any other time in my life. I have contemplated nearly every possible scenario of my future life, as well as though of many brilliant multi-million dollar inventions/innovations...none of which will bring me wealth.
I hope that from this entry you will learn one of life's most valuable lesson: always take time for yourself. Clearing your mind and finding your own nirvana is essential to becoming your own person. Don't over think life, it will do what it does naturally, you just do what you do. Lesson #32 of being your own man: Make certain that you are the man you want to be.
